HER

pt. 15 Model

"How the hell do you just move to a foreign country and not only find the most gorgeous man alive, but sleep with him all in one month?!" Melissa exclaimed. She threw her head back sprawling on the couch.
"That's it. I'm moving here. I don't care if I don't know a single word in Korean other than hello, which by the way, I learned on the plane ride here."
She was prone to ranting when she was exasperated, exhausted or excited.
She was a mixture of all three.
"Does he have friends?" She asked suddenly, popping upright. "Gorgeous friends? Who like women? American women?"
"Shut up." I laughed. "Yeah, actually, all of his friends are really gorgeous. Maybe you can meet them, if you're good."
"Don't play around with me, Josephine LeRoux!" She warned, wagging her finger at me. "I haven't had a boyfriend since before even when you and Henry got together. And I only had one hook up since then and he was so boring."
"That's your fault." I retorted. "You're too busy with dancing. Not to mention how incredibly picky and high maintenance you are."
She stuck her tongue out at me.
"Anyway... Don't you have work or something today?" She asked.
Shit.
I scrambled to my bedroom to get ready for work.
As I slipped a pair of short heels on while brushing out my hair, Melissa came out of the bathroom in pajamas.
"I'll be sleeping until you get back. And then we should go out or something. Show me around your new city?" She pulled out her pillow and blanket from a suitcase and tossed it on the couch.
I agreed, heading out the door.
"Have a lovely day, sweetheart! Make more gorgeous friends for me" She sang as I shut the door.

I was a few minutes late.
I shoved the last bit of my croissant in my mouth after practically chugged my coffee before I caught the next elevator.
Mouth still full, I encountered Kim Seokjin.
He looked at my stuffed cheeks, a smile twitching on his lips as if he were about to start laughing.
I frowned, swallowing the last bit down.
"What are you staring at?" I grumbled, pressing the button to our office floor.
"Oh nothing." His voice was entirely too monotone. "You just reminded me a lot of someone I know."
I quirked an eyebrow at him.
"His name is Oodeng." He said, his voice cracking.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
Who is...
"He's my pet sugar glider." He started laughing, his face turning red.
He mimicked the face I was apparently making before he broke, his squeaky laugh growing louder.
"Shut up!" I laughed, punching him in the arm. I folded my arms and turned away. "You would have a weird pet like that."
His laughter subsided as he wiped his joyful tears away. "Hey, Oodeng and Eomuk are cute little angels." He replied, defensively.
I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile.
So he likes animals too... That's sweet.
The elevator stopped and we got out together.
"So...ah.. how was your night?" He tried his best to not sound awkward.
I pretended to look at the wall decor, trying to hide my face from going red. "It was fine. Uneventful." I tried my best to sound neutral. "Yours?"
He paused before answering, "Great. My father has excellent taste in women. She was very beautiful. And ah... Smart."
I narrowed my eyes, but still didn't turn towards him.
Nope. Not jealous.
"Cool." I replied.
Okay, you sound very jealous, Josephine.
I wanted to slap myself.
When we arrived at our office, we came upon Lee Gun Ho looking very nervous as he spoke with Mr. Kim Sung Keon.
They turned to greet us, Seokjin and I exchanging confused looks.
"Mr. Kim Sung Keon has something very big for us." Gun Ho spoke.
He sounded very nervous too.
"Our recent clients were very impressed with what you two accomplished and pointed a very large company our way to design a new marketing campaign for their product." The boss explained. "This is a chance for both of you to raise yourselves in this company. You will be responsible for not only the concept and designs, but for fulfilling the campaign to it's launch." He turned towards me.
My stomach always dropped at his gaze. "Ms. LeRoux, You will have an opportunity to become marketing director with this project. And Mr. Kim, you could prove yourself to becoming a member of the board. I've assigned members to assist you both, and I expect you both to fill in roles of leadership."
He bowed before turning and walking away with Lee Gun Ho.
"Wow," I said when they had gone, "That's a lot of opportunities for us. And responsibilities."
I turned to Seokjin. I was taken aback by the anger on his face.
"Seokjin... Are you okay?" I asked, worried.
"He's trying to jump me up to a board member already. I shouldn't have that opportunity for several years." His voice was bitter, and he wouldn't look at me. "He won't ever let me figure things out on my own because he knows I won't always choose his path. That I'd never choose his path."
He sounded so hurt, so angry.
I placed my hand on his arm.
His head whipped towards me, his face losing all the anger it had held.
He looked at me in a way that caused my heart to race before he lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I usually can compose myself better. Forgive me." He said.
I tightened my grip on his arm. "There's nothing to forgive. Don't apologize for how you feel."
He raised his head, that look on his face bringing heat to mine.
"Josephi---"
"Seokjin? I thought I saw you!" A musical voice chimed.
We both turned to see an absolutely gorgeous woman enter our office.
She was taller than most women, certainly taller than me, with long legs and a slender build with an impossible tiny waist.
Her dark brown hair fell neatly across her pale forehead and to her shoulders. She had a button nose and rosebud lips that could only belong to...
A model.
Oh no...