Business Trip

Thursday, 5:30 a.m.

The alarm rang in the darkened room — a merciless sound filling up every bit of my head. Growling, I reached over to the nightstand to check my phone and had to squint my eyes from the brightness.

Fuck. My. Life.

It felt like I had just fallen asleep a few moments ago.

I peeled myself out of the heavenly warm, comfortable sheets, with every part of me yearning to curl back up and stay in bed forever. This day was about to become real, as soon as my feet touched the ground. Sighing, I got up.

As I made my way over to the bathroom, I noticed a throbbing pain behind my temples, a distant reminder of last night's tears. I turned on the shower. Images flashed before my eyes as I looked at myself in the fogging mirror.

Jack.

Jihan.

Reaching for the toothbrush, I tried to push their faces out of my thoughts, but the more I did, the more clear-cut they got. I brushed my teeth fiercely, feeling the bristles shredding my gums.

Just a few days ago, when I had left for Seoul, I knew who I was and what I wanted. My life was in good order. But it had become a twisted shitshow in no time. And now, I didn't even recognize myself anymore: my judgement, my morals, all the priorities I claimed to have in life — should they be nothing but pretense in the end? How could I ever trust myself again after what happened yesterday?

I dropped the toothbrush, feeling dizzy all of a sudden. Cheating — I never thought that I would be capable of crossing that line. And I never thought that I'd enjoy it this much. Like a heartless bitch.

My lips started to tremble. How should I face everyone at the office in a few hours? If they ever found out about me and Jihan, my reputation was done. Fear reached out its cold claws and clenched my chest. I gasped for air, rasping sounds escaping my throat as the panic attack took a firm hold of me.

Normally, I called Jack when I started to freak out like this. But since yesterday, there was no text from him, no missed call. And even if I could bring myself to pick up my phone — what the heck should I say anyway? That I panicked because I had slept with my co-worker, and now feared the consequences? That there was no future for us with him staying in New York, but I just wanted to call for some comforting?

I got into the shower, letting the hot water run over my shaking body, as I focused on taking deep breaths. I needed to calm down and understand that everything that happened yesterday was unimportant. Today was about my promotion. Getting the meeting with K-21 done, making them sign the contract, and earn my position in management. I had to suck it up. This was my last chance to make this trip a success, and self-pity was not getting me anywhere.

Slowly, the shaking stopped, and I reached for my wash bag, taking out a few painkillers, and swallowing them just like that. I would make this day work. Then, I could crawl back under the covers, hiding from my life, and licking my wounds.

My gray pencil skirt and matching blazer were hung up in the closet, waiting for me to put them on. I had brought them especially for today: the day I gained my promotion. I pressed my lips together, remembering how I had put the clothes in my suitcase last week, hardly able to wait for my trip to start. If only I'd known about the nightmare that was awaiting me here...

My gaze fell onto the package from the hotel's dry-cleaners in the corner, neatly wrapped with a brown bow, and it struck me that my clothes from last night were still at Jihan's. Cursing my own stupidity to storm out of his flat like a lunatic, I unwrapped my peach-colored ruffle neck blouse and put it on.

A pale woman with swollen, bloodshot eyes stared back at me, as I checked my reflection in the mirror. If I wanted to impress K-21, showing them a confident representative of headquarters leading through their meeting, I needed to look better than this sickly version of myself. Much better.

I walked back to the bathroom and grabbed my curling iron and make-up bag.

I was going to step up my game.

***

When I came down the stairs of the lobby, I saw Jeongun standing at the hotel gates, carrying a backpack. Feeling the strong need to thank her for last night, I rushed over to her.

"Hey." The sun hit my face as I stepped outside, and I had to blink a few times, adjusting to the light. "Are you on your way home?"

She turned, fatigue from the night shift etched on her pretty face.

"Yeah, I need to get to bed. It was a long night." She tilted her head a little. "Are you okay? You look much better."

I nodded, still embarrassed with myself. "I'm fine. Thanks again." Struggling what to tell her, I stopped for a second. "It was just... you know — men."

"Oh." She looked like an important piece of the puzzle about what happened last night had just been handed to her. "Of course, I know. It's kind of my superpower to attract the wrong guys."

Seeing her cheerful smile, I instantly felt better. Jeongun somehow had a way of doing that whenever we met. I felt the strong urge to do something nice for her as well. Return the favor, if you will.

"Actually, Jeongun, do you have any plans for tonight?"

She looked at me, surprised by my question. "Um, no, not really. I don't have to work tomorrow, so I will be home, I guess, watching movies with my cat." She pulled a face at me.

"How about you join me for a party instead? My firm is renting a club tonight, and you could be my plus one."

Her face lit up. "That sounds amazing! I get invited to parties so little nowadays, with the shifts at the hotel, and all. Wait, let me give you my number."

I handed her my phone. "I will text you the address, and we can meet there. And it goes without saying that drinks are on me."

Jeongun stopped typing in her information and looked up, a sly expression on her face.

"How about you introduce me to one of your handsome colleagues instead, and let him pay for my drinks tonight?"