It takes me a minute to get my head out of my work. “What?”
“Drinks. Are you coming?”
No one mentioned drinks to me. I’m tempted, but Meredith has assigned me two more tasks, and I’m getting stressed thinking about it. “Maybe next time.”
Brittany pouts. “Oh, boo. Everyone will be there.”
That tempts me even more because drinks are always a good wayto connect. Then she adds, “It’s to celebrate me joining the firm! It’s so sweet of Meredith to have planned it.”
Screw that, then. I mask my annoyance with my usual smile. “So sweet,” I say.
She waves at me with the tips of her manicured fingers in a toodles gesture and leaves.
Later, I don’t bother to look up from my files when I hear the rest of the group head for the bar.
Tuesday, 10:26 p.m.
When I get home, Jihoon is lying on the floor, which seems to be his happy place. He unwinds to stand, and I see he’s about 80 percent very muscled leg, emphasized by his tight jeans. His oversize gray shirt reveals part of his shoulder. Hana is right, he’s got style and not only in how he dresses. It’s the way he holds himself. His hair is a stark blue black, and I resist running to the bathroom to check his cleaning job.
“Your hair looks nice,” I say politely.
He runs his hand through and tilts his head to the side. “Does it?”
Well, when he looks at me likethat, it does. Before I can answer, he gives a brief nod and disappears back into his room. I watch him go, a strange ache in my chest that I can’t quite identify.
I’m probably hungry.
Thursday, 9:15 a.m.
Me:I tripped over your shoes this morning. There are a lot of them.
Jihoon: [photo of a suitcase filled with small cloth bags]I like to be ready for any occasion.
Me:Those are SHOES? Why are they in single-serving bags?
Jihoon:You don’t shove Pradas into a suitcase without protection.
Me:Prada.
Jihoon:You’ve heard of Prada? You have.
Me:OMG, I’ve heard of Prada. It’s that I don’t care about Prada.
Jihoon:You are a monster. Look.[photo of brown shoe].
He must have sent the wrong image.
Me:It’s a shoe. It’s brown. Is that Prada?
Jihoon: [GIF of horrified cat]Levlin. Hand-stitched with copper awls. It takes a cobbler weeks to make. Years of expertise. It’s not only a shoe, it’s imagination made real.
Me:I can get a pair of shoes for $20 that will keep my feet off the gross sidewalk the same way.
Jihoon:I repeat, a monster.
Me:A monster who doesn’t want to trip over shoes in the hallway.
Jihoon:Fair. Admit that shoe is a work of art though.
