NUDES

33

The double doors of the CEO's office never failed to make Lalisa's insides churn.

She'd been here countless times before - when she'd first arrived at YG Entertainment, when she was chosen to be a part of the Pink Punk lineup, when she was called for their postponed debut, when she was chosen to be a part of BLACKPINK, and many other times where she made mistakes that put the company into shame.

But right now, she didn't really know what the hell she was doing here. She tried to recount her memory... and came up with nothing. Lisa did not do anything wrong - well, at least that's what it seemed like to her.

Manager Jung opened the doors, stepping aside to let her in first. They both exchanged a knowing glance before she entered, expecting to see the new CEO but found no one.

As if noticing her distress, Secretary Gong spoke, "The CEO would arrive shortly. She still had a business dinner with one of our investors but she's on her way now."

Lisa nodded, "Alright." Whatever.

No one inside uttered a word as the minutes passed by. She could sense the growing tension from her manager, since it was his first time meeting the new CEO was well. Secretary Gong was just standing there at the corner, her eyes glued to her tablet.

The sight of her alone made Lisa want to throw a pillow at her head.

Refraining herself from doing so, she resorted to checking her watch again - but what she saw made eyes widen like saucers. It's fucking 7:20 pm.

Jeongguk.

"Manager Jung," She started, disturbing the silence in the room, "Can I borrow my phone, please? I need to text my unnies. I told them I'd treat them tonight and they're probably expecting me." She spoke hurriedly, thinking of Jeongguk. He must be worried sick now.

"There's no need," Secretary Gong said from the corner, looking up from her tablet, "I've already informed Jennie so you don't need to worry about anything."

She nodded, fists clenched, "Manager Jung... can I..." Lisa trailed off, not knowing what excuse to say. She kept her mouth shut instead and lowered her eyes to the ground. Great, Lalisa.

Jeongguk was probably wondering where she was right now.

Shit.

▪️

Jeongguk stared at his phone.

It was thirty minutes past 7 now, and Lalisa still wasn't here. He'd sent her a string of messages yet she didn't read any of them and all his calls went immediately to voice mail. Where the hell was she?

His eyes turned to the still-burning candles atop the table. It had been burning like that for an hour and the wax was already melted halfway through. Sighing, he blew the candles - dimming the entire room.

The food that he'd prepared had gone cold and the bluetooth speaker needed to be recharged. It stopped playing a few minutes ago, much to his annoyance. He had to buy a new one - again.

Maybe the traffic was heavy or something, he thought as he checked his phone once more.

Like always, there was no reply.

▪️

After thirty excruciating minutes of waiting, the CEO finally arrived.