—Present Day—

San Francisco, California


..

"It's okay, Jennie." Jisoo handed me a Kleenex as I leaned against her shoulder in the executive lounge. "It's okay to cry about Lisa."

"I'm not crying about her, Jisoo." I felt tears falling down my face. "I'm not crying about her at all. I'm crying about the new Starbucks in the lobby. Why can't they make good drinks?"

She handed me another Kleenex and took my phone, preventing me from texting Lisa back for another day.

I remained in denial for weeks, purposely avoiding any activities outside of my office so no one would have to see how puffy and red my face was. I did my best to keep myself busy and became the type of stellar employee that everyone else hated. I was two hours early, and I stayed three hours late.

I went above and beyond, doing things Hanbin didn't even ask me to do.

The Cybersecurity department no longer existed to me, and I never showed up to any meeting Lisa hosted. Occasionally, our eyes would meet in the hallway, but I wouldn't let my gaze linger on her for long.

It was time for me to start over, again.

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