Nevermind

Chapter 64: Can I Get a Little Bit of Hope

"You wanted to see me, Mr. Kang?" you stood at the door of the VP of Sales' office. You had probably only seen him once or twice since you came to Seoul.

"Yes, please take a seat" he motioned for you to walk in without looking up.

"I've been talking to Mrs. Nakamura, she was not mistaken when she recommended we transferred you here. This last year's sales reports show your exceptional skills, you were easily above each and every single one of our other representatives"

Mrs. Nakamura, your old boss, was only a regional sales manager, but when this position opened up at the headquarters, she encouraged you to move back to Korea and take it. Moving to another country to do the exact same job sounded dumb, specially if your mother would be too close for comfort.

She had insisted your chances of growing and learning more were higher in Korea than in Japan. That had sounded questionable to you with gender-discrimination in the workplace being bad in either country and beauty standards being just as skewed.

In the end, you had listened to her and had moved back to South Korea after not having seen it since you graduated. You had hoped that you would indeed benefit from working at the root of the company and were glad your skills had been above average in Seoul as well.

"I'm very happy to hear that, Mr. Kang" you nodded with a sincere smile that he reciprocated.

"You might have noticed Mrs. Kim, our Sales Director, is nearing her retirement. She's done an outstanding job for our company for many years and she's also noticed the raw potential in you" he continued and you couldn't help but feel dread. These praises always came with a huge 'but'.

"As you've been working for us for over a decade now, we thought we should put this potential to a test and, if we find that the results are satisfactory, Mrs. Kim would like to incorporate you to her team of sales managers" your eyes widened in shock and despite feeling your heart race, you replied resolutely.

"Of course, Mr. Kang. I would be more than willing to prove I would be perfect for the position."

Your confident smile turned into a grimace with his next few words and your heart sank in your chest.

It felt like your week was split into a before and after that talk, it had been going well and within twenty minutes it had turned your life into a living hell.

Jimin knew immediately that there was something in your mind when your attitude changed drastically.

"I'm tired, Jimin-ah. That's all" you grumbled into your phone as you laid in a bubble bath trying to relax that Thursday night.

"Okay, aegi. Do you still want me to pick you up tomorrow night? Hoseok and Namjoon hyung will go by the dorms to shower and change, but we should have the place to ourselves" he felt insecure when you got like this, your being short with him made him feel unwanted.

"Yes, of course, Jiminie. I really want to see you" you reassured him fervently after hearing the hesitant tone of his voice and he instantly sounded more cheerful. It made you feel guilty that when something wasn't right with you, he felt it and was down too.

"I can't wait to see you either, baby" he murmured flirtatiously and his tone made your cheeks flush, "have a good night."

"You too, only dream of me" you teased him and he laughed endeared before you said your goodbyes. It was almost guaranteed your night was going to be another sleepless one.

By the evening of the next day you surprisingly felt exhausted, but not faint. Despite your instant need to turn all of your anxiety onto yourself and restrict your food, you did your absolute best to eat the bare minimum, which was better than nothing.