sporadic butterflies

CHAPTER 2

SILL MONDAY, 11:55 AM

"No."

Rosé – another digital writer occupying the desk adjacent to Jisoo's table - said with a straight face and without blinking.

"Wow, that hurts, Rosé," Jisoo tried going for drama when bargaining didn't work. "Please, it would mean sooooo much to me, to my whole life, even."

"What do you want me to do?" the other writer continued typing on her keyboard. "Ms. Irene specifically asked for you to do this interview and to write about it. We'd both be in hot water if I went up there and did your job."

"Pleaaassssseeeee."

Rosé sighed and swiveled on her chair to fully face her. "Look, what are you so worried about? It's just an interview. Ms. Kim isn't even that scary. You weren't like this when you went in that gangster neighborhood to do an article about the youth living there."

"That's different!"

"I know," Rosé agreed, turning back to her computer. "Interviewing our new boss is much safer."

Right. Safer.

Jisoo started wringing her hands nervously. She has to convince Rosé one way or another, but what was she gonna offer as an excuse not to do the interview? Because she can't exactly say: / slept with her and now I'm scared to meet her let alone talk to her because...

"Jisoo," Rosé snapped at the air in front of her face. "Earth to Jisoo, you're spacing out."

"Hmmm."

Rosé stared at her and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you gonna start crying? You look like you're gonna cry."

"I'm not crying," Jisoo shook her head but she did pull up a couple of tissues from her desk just in case she actually did start crying, which was not really that far off, tbh.

"Hey," Lisa arrived with a paperbag of her lunch and a gaggle of assorted coworkers behind her. "What are you guys doing? Let's go eat."

"I'm honestly worried about this girl," Rosé tilted her head to Jisoo's direction. "She's not looking well."

"She wasn't feeling good this morning as basically everyone in this building saw during the announcement," Lisa replied as the other employees from their floor got up to go to lunch. "But I got us a table at the cafeteria, so let's go already. I'm hungry."

Jisoo sighed and grabbed her phone from her desk. "Are we doing that company lunch again? Can't I be left alone to eat today?"

"Nooope," Lisa linked arms with her and half-dragged Jisoo out of her chair. "The reason why they insisted on eating with your workmates is to bond with them. You can't exactly bond with us if you eat alone."

"But I don't feel like socializing today," she whined like a little kid who didn't wanna go to school.

"Not an option."

"But-"

"Get it together," Lisa's eyes warned her enough. "One more protest and I'm gonna carry you down myself to the cafeteria, I swear."

Jisoo was still pouting when they arrived at their table five minutes later, Lisa has taken the liberty of getting her a lunch pack and was prepared to shovel food in her mouth if necessary - should she refuse to eat it.

They shared their table with Momo - another in-house photographer, Sana - a fashion assistant whom they always work with, Rosé, and Yeri - a social media intern.

"Why are you so quiet today?" Momo asked when the mandatory small talk about the weather, the menu, and the current tv show that the office was obsessing with was over and everyone's mulling over their respective lunches - a question directed to Jisoo. "Are you still not feeling well?"