WHEN THE SEA IS ROUGH (ill hearts 2)

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"The sea is not always still, but it never loses its beauty. Even if the waves foam one day, and swallow peace for a moment, one day a sailor will be able to cross the sea with ease again."

June 2024

Jungkook

Square, ugly buttercream room with a rectangular window behind me. Along with two tables facing each other, and four chairs, for the suspects and detec- I still keep forgetting it was a casting, not an interrogation. I mean, it was easy to mix those two once inside the hideous room. There wasn't much difference between this and the one in Eunbi's favorite horror, right before the main character splatters it with blood.

A casting for my new manager was already pushing past the ninety minute mark, and no candidate had sparked any interest for me. I'd been running strong with my old manager, Baekhyun, until he met the love of his life and she convinced him to move to Peru. My man was long gone after their first date, and I had no choice but to let him go. He was so crazy about her, and their new life together, that I didn't get to ask him to fill in his position before they left. But I suspect he wouldn't have been able to focus on anything but his coal-hair, coal-eyes Aiko. Warm and charming woman, but now I had to do it all myself.

Seventy one resumes on my e-mail, and I went through them all in the past week. I needed to know where to put more focus, and where not to bother. Out of seventy one people, for the interview I invited twenty two.

"Bring in the next one." I sighed, picking up stapled pile of papers with number sixty six written in the top right corner with a Sharpie. "Kang Jiah." The first and only woman on the list, and the most impressive work record.

Seo, the bodyguard from the club I brought with myself to help me manage this mess (I was the least organized person when it came to business) walked in first, followed by the candidate that was going to turn my hair grey. It's not like she wasn't good-looking, and not like I judged anyone by the way they dressed, but I should have had a few more pins and needles under my ass when those five inch high heels stepped into my life. I should have listened when my body stiffened, and stomach twisted into a bow for a second. I should have, but I didn't, probably because of the amount of good reviews I read about her, and two pages of achievements alone.

Someone must have pulled her out of a "boss woman" Pinterest board, adding a bit too short black skirt. Looking at her make-up, I'd say she was a model to be photographed on a daily basis. Small nose, small eyes, a portion of plastic injected in her lips. She flipped her wavy, brown hair back, and I stood up to shake her hand.

"Jeon Jungkook."

"Kang Jiah."

As we sat at the two tables, I gave a glance into her resume to decide what to ask about first. The question hanged at my tongue, as she was smoothing lip balm across her lower lip. Weird way to start a job interview, too confident in a field she shouldn't bring into work, but okay.

"Um," I mumbled, and creased my forehead. "Well, okay... I have no idea how to run a job interview, so if I suck, please bear with it."

"I'm sure you will be a perfect interviewer, Mr. Jeon." She smiled, her voice smooth and deeper than I expected. Seductive was a word that rolled onto my tongue, but I didn't want to admit it was a 10/10 word-choice.

The air smelled strange, and it wasn't her overpriced perfume that left almost no room for oxygen.

"I need to know why you decided to apply for the position first," I said.

"I like working with people who have potential for a lot of success, and you seem just like that, Mr. Jeon."

I glanced into the resume again, her birth date flashing through my mind, but unclear. "We are the same age. You can call me Jungkook," I said, after making sure. "Now, tell me... why should I hire you?"