1. employee of the month

                                    

                                          
JISUNG'S POV:
"I don't get it, how the hell did Lee fucking Minho get Employee of the Month again?" I say in frustration, storming into the office with Felix and Changbin behind me. 
"He's pretty good, you know? He's also a hard worker," Felix tries to reason with me. 
"Whose side are you on?" Changbin puts on his protective best friend mode. This is why I love him. 
"I swear, I HATE that name! Why does he have to take it away from me? He clearly doesn't even want it, so why bother wasting precious time over it? I really don't get it." 
Felix and Changbin look at each other for a moment, before bursting into laughter. I look at them in confusion. 
"Why does this award even matter that much to you? You've been getting it ever since you started here till now anyways," Changbin asks. 
In college, I was a communications major. My parents thought that with a major like that in high demand, I could land myself a hotshot role as a public relations director at a big firm or start my own company. It's obviously impossible to climb that high up the career ladder without all the years of work experience. You can imagine their horror when life gave them a reality check that they were too ambitious and their son would be working at "some old magazine company" (which is actually one of the biggest in South Korea right now). Long story short, they want me to prove that whatever I'm doing, I am the best at it. 
Even though I defied my parents by not getting into the field they wanted me to get into, I still love them. I didn't want to create problems because of my passion, so this was a little compromise that we worked out. 
"Don't get me there," I say, recalling. "Minho's gonna be a bitch dead in a ditch when I get it next month." 
"Wow, I didn't know you were that obsessed with me. I'm honored, truly." 
Speaking of the devil. Minho walks into the office, an air of sass with each step he took from those annoyingly loud Chelsea boots he always wore. 
"Shut the fuck up," I seethe. 
"Or what?"
"What is the deal with you? You don't even want the award! Why are you trying so hard to take it away from someone who actually does?" Changbin asks, folding his arms. I smirk. If there was one person that Minho was scared of, it was Changbin. After landing a well deserved punch in the guts from him once, he definitely learnt his lesson that sizes are deceiving. 
"Well, you know...oh shit I forgot to switch off my bedroom door see ya," he makes a beeline for the exit. I shake my head, trying to control my laughter. 
"He'll keep proving me wrong over and over again," Felix sighs, referring to what he said earlier. 
*
"Come over once you're done with school," I put the call on speakerphone as I take off my office shirt, throwing on a comfortable tank top in place of it. 
"Why? Mom might yell if I go home late." 
"Yunjin pleaseeeee. I'll call and tell her," I beg. I wanted a distraction to keep me away from being upset over something that shouldn't matter much, so what better way than calling over your rowdy little sister to do what she does best? 
"Fine. You're paying for the taxi, though." 
"Hey, taxi fares are expensive! Can't you just get on the bus?"
"But Ji, I'm a material girl!" She says in an annoying faux accent, laughing at herself. Did I mention that she's extremely impractical?
"Yeah well, you can material girl your way out of a chance for some cheese garlic pizza," I say, knowing that I hit the right spot. 
"You love me too much to do that." That was true, but she didn't need to know. 
-
"So, why did you call me?" Yunjin asks, taking a huge bite off her slice of pizza. 
"How about a 'Thank you Sungie for the pizza'? And why can't I call you over? Am I not allowed to miss my sister or something?" I say defensively. 
"You literally call me over only when you're sad. You should start paying me to deal with your sorrow. Something's up, isn't it?"
I sigh. "Minho got the award again. How am I going to tell mom and dad?" 
"At this point they'll only be satisfied if you show your dominance over the entire workforce of the country," she shakes her head. "They're gonna have to accept the fact that you're doing what you want to do for yourself, and not for them." 
"Anyways, don't worry about it much. If they make it a problem like last month, I got your back," she says, shooting me finger guns. 
I wrap my arms around her. "You're the best." 
"I know, you say it every time I come around," she says rolling her eyes. 
"Dumbass," I chuckle and say, ruffling her hair. "Oh yeah, Felix made brownies. He told me to give you some." 
"You mean the cute, red haired-"
"Yeah no, he's off limits. He's gay," I stop her before she goes further. 
"Why are all the hot men gay?" 
"No, why are all the hot men straight?" I wonder out loud.
MINHO'S POV:
Okay, I'll be honest. I do feel kinda bad that I got the Employee of the Month award over Jisung, considering he was actually working for it. Even though I'm feeling a little guilty for taking it away from him, there's still some sweet satisfaction that comes out of seeing the defeated look on his face. 
Which is why I'm celebrating at the bar with my friends Seungmin, Hongjoong and Seonghwa. 
"CHEERS TO MINHOOOOO!" Hongjoong yells, and we all clink our glasses together. I usually had a pretty high alcohol tolerance but I was still starting to get a little woozy from all the drinks I had. 
"I don't mean to steal the spotlight, but this means something for all of us," Seungmin says. We huddle together, since it appeared that he was going to tell us something confidential. 
"We're gonna be seeing each other more often," he whispers. 
"YOU'RE GOING TO DEBUT?" Seonghwa asks, eyes big as saucers. Seungmin was working as a vocal coach at JYP Entertainment, while Hongjoong was a producer there. He did have the potential to be an idol but he has always brushed aside the idea. 
"No, idiot! Don't tell anyone, but..." his voice drops a pitch lower than it already was, barely allowing us to understand what he was saying. 
"Hyunjin is shooting the contents for his next album with your studio." 
Seonghwa and I stop in our tracks.