Chapter 1.1

1.1

It started with a trivial question. Someone asked her about her ex-boyfriend, and asked when she was getting married. They then jokingly told her that a woman was like a Christmas cake that became worthless after December 25th. Just like a Christmas cake, a woman apparently became worthless after she turned 25. 1

And yes, it has been three years since she turned 25. Her boyfriend of four years met another woman and got married. She was so angry that she drank like crazy during the work party. She even stole other people’s glasses and drank them too.

As expected, she couldn’t remember what happened after that. And the next time she opened her eyes, she was lying next to a man.

And just like that, Jo Sunghee’s 28-year-old life was ruined.

***

Of course, a one-night stand wasn’t a big deal nowadays, but the problem was, she couldn’t even remember who she slept with. Truth to be told, she found the whole thing embarrassing. Sunghee had only had sex twice in her life, and both times, she just did it with her boyfriend because she was swept away by the atmosphere. It wasn’t something she planned, and to be honest, it wasn’t even that memorable. Didn’t they say a girl’s first time was something she was supposed to remember for the rest of her life? Well, whoever said this got it wrong. All she remembered was how it felt uncomfortable, painful, and sticky.

“Boring…”

Sunghee stretched her arms and mumbled. Yura, who was working on her first draft of their commercial project, glanced at her and shook her head.

“You obviously don’t have enough work to do. Would you like to take over mine?”

“No way. What are you talking about? Don’t try to dump your work on me. “

“I’m just saying because it looks like you aren’t working right now. Do you have nothing to do?”

“I’ve got plenty of work. I just don’t wanna do it.”

Who was that man she slept with that night? When she woke up, she found him sleeping on his stomach.  His head turned away, so all she could see was his broad shoulders. Fortunately, she found the used condoms in the trash can, which meant that they were careful at least .

Sunghee didn’t wait around to find out who the man was or what he looked like. She got dressed quickly and ran out of the place like a mad woman.

She did remember the name of the hotel, but she was using the term hotel quite loosely. It was just a tiny place that was located near the pub she drank with her coworkers that night.

Well, perhaps she should be grateful that it wasn’t some dingy motel.  The place she had sex for the first time was in a cheap guest house and the second time was at her boyfriend’s dirty rental. Since she slept with a man in a place that was technically a hotel, Sunghee supposed her life has improved.

“Dammit, I should’ve seen his face before I ran out.”

Sunghee frowned in disappointment. Yura looked at her with a puzzled expression and poked her side.

“Work, work, work!”

“Stop nagging me, Yura!”

“I’m just doing my job.”

Even during their banter, Yura’s hand never stopped working. The colored pencils left pretty shapes and colors on Yura’s paper, and with a sigh, Sunghee looked down at her own paper, which was still blank. It was indeed time to get to work.

***

Advertisement industry was a fierce world. It was extremely difficult for a small advertising agency to survive because it was incredibly hard to beat all the other competing companies to  win contracts. However, Seryun Agency was lucky enough to get regular work, so working here  wasn’t as stressful as working at some other companies.

But recently, it seemed that one of their regular customers had complained about their work. This was why the upper management hired new talents lately. Within the last three weeks, three new managers have been hired. The recent work party was to welcome these newcomers.

Getting drunk and blacking out at a work party… Sunghee felt pathetic. Getting ready to go home, Sunghee frowned in anger. Her face felt like it was pickled in her makeup and her shoulders ached so much that they felt numb. Portfolio work was supposed to be much easier than brainstorming, but she has been feeling self conscious because of her new manager.

“Let’s all go home now.”

Min Seungju, the new head of the department, stood up  and announced. He had a resting smiley face and Sunghee suspected he was probably born with a smile. He was the talk of the office the moment he was hired. Tall, good looking, cheerful personality, impressive academic background, and amazing resume… Since his first day at work, all the female employees couldn’t hide their excitement.

Unfortunately, Sunghee was also just an ordinary woman, so she has been trying to get noticed by this perfect man just like all the other ladies of the office.  But today, she was too tired to make an effort. Besides, her head was still pounding from trying to remember that night of the work party.

Just what exactly happened that night that got her to end up at a hotel with a stranger?

Sunghee carried her bag on her shoulder and was leaving the office when she almost bumped into someone who was walking in.

“Sorry.”

She frowned when she heard the deep voice. It was Ryu Sejin who was in the same team as her. Sunghee imagined he was a year or two older than her, but because he wasn’t a very noticeable man, she never paid any attention to him. There were two reasons why she never found him interesting. First, Sejin was shorter than she usually preferred and secondly, he never talked much. Sunghee couldn’t remember ever having a decent conversation with him.  Besides, it also hasn’t been long since they began working together. Maybe three months at most?

Sejin used to be in the exhibition planning team. The fact that he was transferred here to the newspaper advertising department must’ve meant that he got a promotion, but so far, Sunghee hasn’t noticed any special talent from him.

Sunghee sighed and continued to walk towards the elevator when suddenly, Sejin turned  around to look at her.

“Excuse me…”

His eyes looked narrow under the glasses. Sunghee couldn’t help feeling frustrated, wondering why she couldn’t get a guy like her manager Mr. Min. She sighed again and looked at Sejin.

“Yes?”

His eyes seemed to narrow further before he looked away.

“It’s nothing.”

What a strange man. Sunghee glanced at him once more before leaving the office. Her plan tonight was to watch the rerun of Friends and go to sleep. She needed to forget about her one-night stand. She couldn’t even remember the details of the night, so what was the point of worrying about it? In fact, she felt like she should be thankful that she was able to forget about that bastard who dumped her and got married quickly after.

But things didn’t go as she planned. For some reason, the rerun of Friends was cancelled, and she couldn’t sleep at all that night. Sunghee stared at the ceiling until two o’clock in the morning, wondering about the mystery man she slept with.

***