HER

Pt. 1 Rude

What am I doing here?

I found myself asking that question to the mirror. Any mirror.
The one in the public airport restroom in Seoul.
The one in the lobby of the office of a major marketing company I was interviewed at.
The one in my tiny apartment in a neighborhood I never heard of, much less thought I would ever end up in.

I'm a 25 year old American woman, born and raised in the deep South of Birmingham, Alabama, who learned Korean in grade school because Spanish classes were filled and French seemed too clichè for someone whose roots were deep in Creole.

Yeah, I was that kid.

When I was accepted to the University of Alabama for graphic design, never in a million years did I expect to end up in South Korea.
I mean, my Korean is just passable.
But I guess it was passable enough for a major technical company to reach out and offer an opportunity.

Luckily for them, I was hating my life. Henry, my dreamboat of a southern- gentleman boyfriend, had accepted a job in New York and also apparently accepted a new northern girlfriend.
The company I was interning for five years realized it was impossible to bring me in as an employee and let me go.
To top it all off, my completely healthy and in-shape dad died of a heart attack.

So, yeah, life sucked.

Well, I guess the answer to my question was obvious.
But I still found myself asking it as I washed my hands in the bathroom in the office building of the company I now worked for.
It was my first day, and jet lag from the major time difference still plagued me. I looked into the mirror, frowning that makeup barely concealed the dark circles under my big brown eyes. I combed my long, thick dark hair with my fingers which I keep telling myself I should cut it if I can't remember to brush it. I straightened my blue blazer, buttoned the top of my white blouse and smoothed my black slacks.

Damn, I sure can look professional.

My watch began to beep, my alarm reminding me of my first meeting. I swore to myself at my tardiness and bolted out of there.

Running wasn't my forte, especially in heels, but I gave it my best effort. I'd be damned if I was that lazy American girl who couldn't make it on time to things.

I mean, I kinda was, but I couldn't show that on my first day.

I rushed towards the elevators, spotting one standing wide open. A man was inside so I began to wave and called out in my best Korean to hold the door.
The doors began to close and I shouted again. I mean, I knew I was sayiing the right words. I had to be.

"Hold the door!"
I shouted those words five times, but the douchebag still let them them close!

Well, thankfully, I was better skilled at running than I gave myself credit for, because I caught it just in time.

I crashed through just as they closed, colliding with the glass wall overlooking the city.
Panting, I straightened myself out, adjusting my clothes once again.

I angrily turned towards the man and started to ask if he was in need of a hearing aid device when my breath caught in my throat.

The man who so rudely ignored my pleas was absolutely breathtaking.

He was tall, much taller than my five feet and four inches, with broad shoulders and slim figure underneath a fitted black suit. His jet black hair was cut fashionably and precisely, with a side part that gave him an air of being effortlessly stylish and sophisticated.
He had high cheek bones and a perfectly shaped jaw.
I couldn't stop staring until his dark slanted eyes turned towards me. His gorgeous plump lips frowned.

"Is there a problem?"
His tone snapped me back to the reality where I was pissed off.

"Was my pronunciation off or were you just raised to ignore strangers?" I folded my arms, glaring at him.

He raised that perfectly shaped chin, looking away. "I was in a hurry."

"And I guess my shouting to hold the door was an indication that I wasn't running late to something? That perhaps I was just out for a leisurely walk?" I snapped, my anger rising at his lack of empathy.

"Well, perhaps you should be more efficient with your time management." His reply was said with such a monotonous tone, I wanted to punch him right in the perfect face.

"You said you were running late too!" I exclaimed.

"I said 'in a hurry'. Not that I was late." He retorted.

I was so flabbergasted at him that I stood staring at him with my mouth open again, though his beauty was the last thing on my mind.
Well, maybe not the last.

He avoided eye contact with me, even when the elevator stopped and we both made towards the door. He surprisingly was polite and allowed me to exit before him.

My southern breeding screamed for me to give my thanks, but my pettiness over took so, instead, I gave him a glare as I exited.
My maturity was just developed enough to not stick my tongue out.

We walked down the hallway side by side. I went through extreme efforts to not glance at him. I also refused to change my pace to go further ahead or fall back. He seemed to have had the same idea.

Insufferable man.

It was when we both turn down the second corner when I realized we were headed in the same direction.

I allowed myself to glance quickly up at him, when I caught his eye. We quickly looked away from each other.

I felt my face growing hot.
He had been frowning at me.

What did I do to him?

He was the rude one.

We stopped at the same double doors.
He surprised me once again by opening the doors and allowing me to enter before him. My temper had settled so I opted out of glaring at him.

I still didn't say thank you.

We were greeted by my boss, Lee Gun Ho. He was a friendly man, with a welcoming smile that he gave me as I entered, "Ah Miss LeReoux, you are here right on time. And you as well Mr. Kim. Please, take your seats."

Unfortunately, the only two seats left were side by side, so I plopped down next to "Mr. Kim" and avoided looking at him.
The meeting was as I had expected. Projections for this quarter, the goals we needed to meet.
Then Mr. Lee began a discussion of teams,
"Ms. LeRoux Josephine is a talented graphic designer from America and I fully believe her talents could benefit our company greatly. However, she is rather new so I will be putting her under guidance from a senior supervisor. I believe Mr. Kim Seokjin is best suited for this."

The man next to me sputtered, "M-me? How am I best suited for this?"

I turned towards him.

I'm supposed to work with this guy? This incredibly and devastatingly handsome but equally as rude man?

My stomach turned sour. This was not how I wanted my first day to start out.

Mr. Lee ignored his protests and closed the meeting. The rude man named Seokjin grumbled to himself as we filed out of the room.

I was planning on heading to my new desk to begin brainstorming when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"I didn't ask for this but it seems I don't have a choice. I have something else to do today so we can start tomorrow. Please don't be late." He didn't even give me a chance to respond.

I'm quite sure my big stupid mouth was opened again but I really don't remember.
All I remember was how broad his shoulders looked as he walked away from me.
And how incredibly rude that man was.