Gain

Chapter One

A guttural groan could be heard as footsteps rushed towards the bathroom. It felt as though someone was kneading her stomach. Lifting the lid off the toilet, she waited. Her stomach convulsed and she released as much as she could. The smell was disgusting. Wiping her mouth she searched for the mouthwash.

It took effort to change in to her clothes but she felt refreshed after her shower. The clock above the kitchen sink ticked steadily. 10:37am. She had a bit of time. Gripping the glass of water she threw her pills in to her mouth. She laid her forehead on the counter. The first day was always the worst. The cramps brought her out of her thoughts. Reluctantly, Jennie stood up and headed in to her room. Lisa had told her the meeting would be brief. She had next to no energy to head in to work in her current state. But she must. Sighing, she wondered why it was so hard to be a woman.

The phone screen lit up. It was a notification from Lisa. She was in her office. Jennie frowned at the realization. She would have to trek to the 28th floor. Peaking at her unmade bed she gambled with the idea of crawling back in. The phone pinged. No, she had to go. Locking her door she made her way to the elevator.

She was straining underneath the weight of the duffel bag. The woman who had assisted her had given her back curious looks. She probably wanted to know what was inside. Chaeyoung had found herself in what appeared to be training quarters. An official was kind enough to send her in the right direction. Seeing one of the elevators open she hurried to catch it. Unfortunately the bag was holding her down. The doors closed and she puffed in resignation.

Impressed eyes watched as the missed elevator moved downwards. It was currently at level -7. This building is massive. Her back pained. She contemplated whether she should take the bag off. Glancing at the other elevator she saw that it was nearing. There was no point. She clutched the bag and waited.

When it finally arrived the doors opened with a bing. A man with curly hair bumped in to her roughly. Stumbling slightly she saw that he was running to the training quarters. Glad that she didn't fall she chuckled. Hopefully that guy got where he needed to be. However, it looked more like he was running away from something rather than running towards. She dismissed it and walked in. The buttons ran down the left hand side of the lift. Unfortunately, number 34 was near the bottom. Puffing her cheeks, she attempted to reach down. The bag was too much. Trying to bend her knees a bit more she still could not reach it. A shadow loomed over her and a slim finger came in to view.

"Which number?" a voice asked softly.

"34," she answered.

The finger pressed the button and Chaeyoung felt a hand gently guiding her up. Grateful, she focused on steadying herself.

"Are you alright?"

It sounded even softer. Chaeyoung's breathing was calming as the stranger's thumb drew up and down her arm. Smiling warmly she nodded.

"Yes, I'm good," she placed her hand on top of the other's

The woman averted her eyes shyly and let go of her arm. The door binged open as they reached the 28th floor. Seeing the other woman moving forward, she quickly introduced herself.

"I'm Park Chaeyoung. Thank you so much," she couldn't bow.

The woman turned her head slightly behind and stared straight in to her eyes.

"Kim Jennie and it was a pleasure," abruptly the doors slid shut.