High on You (Choi Do Il x Oh In Joo - Little Women 작은 아씨들)

24

THE NIGHT OF THE GRAND GALA BALL – 6:30pm to 8:30pm

Everything was in place. Every flower stem, every speaker, microphone, every glass box for donations, screen, lightbulb, every tulle, every table, chair, fork. The ensemble was magnificent, and In-joo couldn't have been any prouder. The guests were scheduled to arrive shortly, but she was still in her work attire, busy as she had been checking everything off the lists she had created for that night to see whether all the items they had ordered had arrived and been installed as they had instructed.
"In-joo-ssi?" Mrs. Kim was calling her.
"Yes?"
"You can go freshen yourself up and change for the night. Thank you for your hard work. Everything is spectacular so far." Mrs. Kim herself was still in her working suit, the black silk dress nowhere to be seen yet. At least her makeup was already done, as was her hair.
"Then I'll go upstairs, thank you. And no problem, it was a pleasure working on the Gala night."
Mrs. Kim nodded her head, and In-joo quickly made her way out of the immense event hall. She took the elevator, climbed up her three levels of stairs, and got inside the office.
In the end, she had picked up a dress from the same tailor Mrs. Kim had ordered hers from, and In-joo loved it. When she had gone back a second time and the woman in the shop had seen her, she had immediately known what the occasion was for which In-joo was looking for a fancy dress. They had gone in the back, and the tailor showed her something like twenty beautiful dresses. Different fabrics, different colors, different lengths, different necklines – there was a lot to think about, but with the expert's help, In-joo had decided to go for a long tulip pink satin dress. It had a closed, rounded neckline that completely hid her collarbones and a good portion of the shoulders too, it had no sleeves, and the long skirt had a mermaid line to it, so it was tight around her hips and progressively flowier until it hit the floor, concealing her feet completely.
She took it from the wardrobe, where almost every employee attending the Gala that night had stored their dresses for the day, and headed to the bathroom, where she freshened herself up and tried her best to get some makeup on her face and to style her hair from the messy bun she had sported all day to messy-but-elegant wavy hair that touched her shoulders just slightly. She added some jewelry to the outfit, grabbed her golden clutch with all the necessary items for the night, and, lastly, she put on the brand-new heels she had bought solely for this occasion.
In-joo took out her phone and saw that it was nearly 7 in the evening, so she texted Du-joon to see where he was at.

From: In-joo
Du-joon-ah, should we meet in the hall or directly on the event floor? I'm ready, but still in the office.

In-joo waited fifteen minutes to no avail. Du-joon still didn't respond. Employers were expected to start coming in by 7:30, so she didn't have long before she'd have to head downstairs. Her phone emitted a sudden 'bip' then.

From: In-kyung
Unni, we're all here already. Should we come in?

From: In-joo
Yes, come in and go up to the fifth floor. That's where the Gala Room is. I'll meet you there.

Given the fact that Jong-ho, In-kyung, In-hye and Hyo-rin were already there, she texted Du-joon again, letting him know that she would be waiting for him directly outside the Gala Room, where she was meeting with her family.
She went down the three flights of stairs and then took the elevator. The doors opened directly in front of the huge hall that led to the room she had spent most of her day in. Waiters and waitresses were already running around, checking glasses and cutlery, and the first few employees were already there too. On her left, another elevator opened.
"Unni! You're here already. We took the wrong elevator, and we ended up on the other side of the oval. Sorry we made you wait," said In-kyung.
The whole lot of them were incredible. Jong-ho had one of the nicest black suits ever, In-kyung had an empire-cut dress that was as blue as the night and was fully made of organza, In-hye was wearing a baby pink one-shoulder dress that flowed marvelously to the ground, while Hyo-rin had a jade-colored dress that complimented her skin in a beautiful way. It was similar to the one In-joo was wearing but had a long cut coming up her right leg.
"No problem, In-kyung-ah. You guys look incredible."
"You're looking good too, sis." In-hye winked at her.
"So... you're still waiting for your plus one? Can't believe we're gonna meet him tonight!" exclaimed In-kyung.
"I wrote him a message, but he hasn't texted back yet. You go ahead, I'll catch up with you in a minute."
They all nodded and went inside the Gala Room, while she took out her phone again, sending yet another text message to Du-joon.