After the orientation ends, there's a short 10 minute break. Still bewildered, Mina drags herself to the washroom. A few other new hires are there, retouching their makeup. She looks at one girl beside her, "Can you do makeup that alters someone's face completely?" She jokes, then makes a serious expression.
Mina has always been quite the extrovert and good at making friends, so she feels no issue striking up a conversation with anyone. It was one of her strengths, but that same mouth caused her deep trouble today.
They giggle, and Mina sighs. She brings down her hair, and wears her glasses, a desperate attempt at a disguise. She straightens her clothes and retouches her pink lippie, then catches up with a few other hires also reporting to the office. Infront of the CEOs office, she tries to cheer herself up, "If worst comes to it, I'll just cry and beg! Lets be positive Mina" she says.
The hallway outside the CEO's office is sleek and intimidating, with a silence that would make even footsteps too loud. The other new hires give Mina a puzzled look at her muttered pep talk, but she flashes them a nervous grin and a peace sign anyway.
The secretary in front of the office is a middle aged woman, but poised, elegant and composed. She looks up at Mina, with a polite smile, which somehow feels intimidating. "You must be Kang Mina. Please enter, we'll go through all of you one by one. Get acquainted to your team leader."
Mina's throat goes dry, and she fumbles with her bag's strap. She whispers to herself as she walks through the glass door, "Okay, okay let's calm down. I didn't kill him or anything, it was just coffee. He probably has 100s of those coats flying around..."
She pushes the door open. The CEO is at his desk, tall windows behind him cast light across his sharp features. A glass sign at his desk reads, 'Isaac Henley, CEO'. He doesn't look up immediately, but flips through his file with meticulous precision. He's scanning her profile, with a straight face. Mina stands at the door, silent, secretly sweating. Without looking up, he says, "...Close the door."
Mina shudders. She closes the door, but it is too loud, it's creaks makes her wince. Isaac finally looks up at the new hire assigned to him, his gaze fixes on her. His expression is unreadable, but a faintest trace of recognition and amusement sneaks through...He leans back in his chair, like he's studying some fancy bird at a zoo.
He speaks, "Disguise, is it? …You really think glasses will make me forget the girl who screamed at me in the lobby?" Mina freezes, her disguise plan was instantly shattered. His lips curl into a faint smirk. "Kang Mina huh? What are the chances? I do not know whether I should call you bold or foolish."
"Well that didn't work" she thinks, then instantly stands with a pretentious poise, "Why hello sir, I believe I might have picked up a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitle of an argument with you back there without realizing, but this is just me trying to look presentable, haha" Fake laughter. "I cannot WAIT to work for you, i will do my best sir!" She bows, trying to change the subject.
The CEO gives her a subtle surprised look at her dramatic posture change, and narrows his eyes at her forced bright laughter. He leans back in his chair, watching her performance, "Presentable?" He looks at her hair, somewhat frizzy, her slightly smudged lip gloss, her straightened clothes. The worn out shoes. He lets out a scoff, "This isn't some school play, Miss Kang. I couldn't care less."
Silence. He finally stands, Mina can finally see that he is much taller that she realized in the elevator. He walks towards her in measured steps, and stops before her, close enough for her to feel the weight of his presence, but not close enough to be inappropriate. He bends slightly, so their eyes are at the same level, "At least you have energy. I'll give you that. But if you waste my time with.." he scans her face, she gulps, "...disguises, or excuses, you won't last a week here."
Mina doesn't meet his eye, afraid of doing something stupid again. He stands straight, and Mina lets out a sigh of relief, "Well...You are bolder than most. Not many dare to shout at me their first day at work. Don't disappoint me, Miss Kang."
He turns away and walks back to his desk. He gestures to the pile of files at the corner of his desk. "I'll give you a simple task to start. Sort those, any way you think is best. If you can handle it without spilling coffee over it, we'll talk again." His tone is somewhat mocking, but also amused, like he's curious of her reaction.
"YES SIR" she salutes at him, without thinking, then thinks, "What am i doing?"
The salute catches his off guard. His pen stops mid word, his eye flick up, and for a moment his lips curl as if he's suppressing a laugh, "What are you, a soldier?" He thinks, then forces his face back to his stoic one.
She hurries to grab the paperwork, embarrassed, then spots the suit jacket on the chair. She gulps, "Um, if you don't mind it, I can try to wash it off sir, please let me fix it" she says with guilt.
He looks at her in disbelief, almost offended, "You? Wash Armani? Do you know what an Armani is?" His eyes traces her guilty expression, as she tightens her stack of papers on her chest, "You're asking to fix it? Why?"
Mina tries to straighten her back, but she can't look at him in the eye. She musters up her courage, "I just want to try and fix my mistake sir. I want to work here for a long time, maybe even get some promotions and go up the ladder and earn the big money and buy fancy desserts and-" she pauses, "Wait I'm getting sidetracked" "-and i cannot do that if there's tension like this between us. I respect you as my employer, and this was an honest mistake. It's just a piece of cloth, i can't imagine washing it being different from any other item, i can even sew, so i can patch it up if nothing else works, either way it wont be stained." She says, looking at the CEO's shoes, too awkward to look at him in the eyes, but with a fiery expression.
He lets her babble, arms crossed, with a slight crease forming between his brows. He tilts his head slightly, her rambling is earnest, unusual. Something about it has sparked his measured, almost predatory calm he reserves for assessing talent. Most people apologize, fumble and move on. She is just an ordinary worker, a coat like that would cost her almost three month's worth of her salary. He didn't expect to make her handle the consequence of her mistake, she simply couldn't. But there she was, offering to wash off a designer suit, not stammering, not cowering. She meant it. He looks at her guilt-ridden face, with her passionate eyes.
He sighs. Then scratches his hair, "Fine, do whatever with it, if it helps ease your guilt. I've ordered a new one anyway, and probably won't wear it again."
Mina's face lights up, she grabs the jacket and gives him a warm smile, only to be met with an icy cold look, typical of him. "The coat doesn't matter, Miss Kang. Your task is to focus on your assignments and the paperwork I give you." He turns away, without hearing her answer, gesturing her to leave.
Mina bows anyway, and leaves.
Her coworkers look at her intently, and she gives them a comic arm flex, then a thumbs up, some giggle. A staff member guides her to her cubicle. She folds the coat in a paper bag Isaac's secretary provides her.