p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"span style="text-decoration: underline;"strongChapter 1- Clever and Foolish/strong/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"There was lots of talk around the office this morning but Yeong-Woo was not paying attention to any of it as usual. She continued her tasks on her checklist and drew a picture of a whale instead of drawing a check every time she completed one of them for the coming case./p
p class="MsoNormal"However, when she went to grab a water bottle from the fridge and she heard Minwoo discussing Junho and someone he supposedly liked at the firm, her ears pricked up eagerly. She couldn't help it. The feelings of interest in someone other than herself didn't occur, virtually ever. So, whenever Junho was mentioned, she felt herself flush in some kind of unnatural way. She couldn't help herself. It was becoming rather embarrassing./p
p class="MsoNormal"She turned to find Minsoo saying, "Ya, we live together so we talk, you know? Last night we were having drinks and he told me he likes an attorney in the litigations team. There are only two of you so I'm guessing it's you." Yeong Woo felt her hands clench unintentionally. For some reason, thinking that Junho liked Soo Yeon made her feel...feel...she didn't know. She never felt this feeling...much. She'd have to go and check the emotions poster at home./p
p class="MsoNormal"She let it slide as she heard her colleague laugh and was leaving the kitchen area, when Junho bumped into her, "Hey, sorry. I wanted to have lunch today. Did you eat?" Yeong-Woo nodded and smiled slightly, "Yes, but it's ok. I'm going to work." She made to get out of his way but he stepped in front of her, "We haven't had lunch together all week. I miss our lunchtime." Lunchtime was time to talk about whales. How could he miss it? Nobody else did. She voiced this thought, "Why? Nobody else likes to hear whale talk."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Junho stared at her in surprise and then he frowned. She felt a strange tension between them that had never been there before. But she had also never turned him down for lunch before. He asked her worriedly, "Are you alright? Something feels...off."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo inhaled sharply and took as step back as he tried to reach an arm out to her. She whispered tightly, "I have lots to read before a meeting at 2. I can't waste time talking about whales." It was only 12 so she actually had plenty of time. But right now she didn't want to deal with people. She needed a reason to be on her own./p
p class="MsoNormal"When she reached her office, she closed the door. She started on her pile of work and leafed through the pages of the North Korean defector. She felt sorry for her. Yeong-Woo didn't often let her emotions dictate how she felt in a case, but this time was different. Something struck a cord with her and she couldn't quite put her finger on it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Half an hour went by and there was a knock on the door, "Ne..." she said as all of her colleagues did. When she glanced up, she saw Junho enter with a tray in his hands. He said, "I like whale talk because we get to spent time together." Yeong-Woo felt herself freeze. This was an unprecedented area of territory for her, and she didn't know what the correct response was. She shrugged and allowed him to come in and sit./p
p class="MsoNormal"Junho closed the door swiftly and smiled at her, "What's your case about?" She swallowed and replied, "A North Korean defector who injured an old woman and caused bodily harm for money." She refused to look at him for fear of him detecting how nervous she had suddenly become around him. He leant forward and this forced her to make uncomfortable eye contact with him, "What's going on? Something had upset you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo grimaced and whispered tightly, "Nothing. Nothing at all. Like I said, I just have a lot of reading so..." Junho gently placed his hand on her work she was flipping through, once again meaning that she had to look him in the eyes, "I'm not leaving this room until you tell me what's going on. And I know you like your space so...I'll just wait."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He folded his arms patiently and stared at Yeong-Woo, causing the heat to rise to her cheeks. She couldn't look at him and she grated out, "I heard Min Woo talking to Soo Yeon about how close you two are." This caused Junho to chuckle, "Oh really? Why are we close?" Yeong-Woo finally looked at him in the eyes, "Because you were drinking together last night and I heard you like a litigation attorney. There's only me and Soo Yeon."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Junho nodded carefully, "Yes, that's all true. Unless, I liked men then I would be into Myung Seok, right?" He seemed to be enjoying this conversation and finding it funny. Yeong-Woo muttered irritably, "I think you should go." She hadn't even considered the option of him being interested in men. She grimaced as he leant over her desk, "Won't you look at me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo finally forced herself to breathe deeply and open her eyes. He was so close to her face, she could feel his breath touch her lips. Junho was about to continue when there was another knock on the door. His eyes didn't waver though as he continued to stare into hers and he asked, "Do you want to let the person in?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo wasn't sure if this was a trick question. She very much wanted to close the gap between them and kiss him. She had never wanted anything (except to be a lawyer) so much in her life. Junho wasn't moving away either. There was another knock and she inhaled sharply, "Come in," forcing Junho to sit back in his seat./p
p class="MsoNormal"Luckily, he did because the next thing was that Soo Yeon had entered with a pass and a license, "We are going to visit the defendant in jail." She glanced at Junho and smiled, "Would you like to join us?" Yeong-Woo found herself thinking, 'Please say no, please say no...'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Junho smiled at her, "Thanks for the invite, but I really must head back to my desk. Got my own cases to do some research on." He bent his head in both of their directions and left. Soo Yeon stared at her in silence. Yeong-Woo asked, "What?" She shrugged and said, "What was he doing here?" Yeong-Woo replied, "He wanted to talk about whales. Let's go."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Soo Yeon looked agitated by this but otherwise didn't respond. The rest of the car ride was silent until Soo Yeon asked, "Why whales?" Yeong Woo startled in surprise. Nobody ever actually asked her that question so she replied, "Excuse me?" Soo Yeon sighed in irritation, "Why are you obsessed with whales? I mean you could have chosen anything to be obsessed with."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Woo Young shrugged. She knew the answer, but she didn't really want to share it, "I'll tell you another time." She waited for a response but Soo Yeon simple nodded and seemed to accept this answer. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"********************/p
p class="MsoNormal"When they returned to the office, Junho smiled at them and stood up to bow. This made Soo Yeon blush and bow briefly in return. He tried smiling and Yeong Woo but she didn't feel like returning the gesture. Instead, she looked elsewhere and took herself off to the conference room. There wasn't a meeting in there so she leant against the desk and stared at the magnificent whale facing her. She remembered a few days ago when Junho had first showed the image too her and how she often snuck in here when no one was around to admire the image. It was nothing like she had ever seen before./p
p class="MsoNormal"There was a knock on the door and she jolted. She stood up straight and asked, "Ne?" Junho entered slowly and she turned away from him. He closed the door and asked slowly, "I see this is your new favourite place." She had to look at him now. She grimaced and whispered, "Yeah. Thanks to you." He grimaced and asked quietly, "Why are you so off me suddenly? Have I done something to upset you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo inhaled sharply through her nose, trying to keep her heart from racing. She hated conflict at the best of times. This was just not her area of expertise. She turned to look him in the eye and asked, "You like Soo Yeon, true or false?" He blinked at her in confusion the same way her the same way he had asked her several weeks ago if he liked her, Young Woo. Clever and Foolish Young-Woo. How could he ever?/p
p class="MsoNormal"He swallowed and asked nervously, "Why do you think so?" Young-Woo blinked and couldn't hold his gaze anymore, "Because Minwoo was talking about someone you liked in the office this morning." Junho seemed frozen. She pushed him once to see if he was able to move. He snapped out of his reverie and said, "Damn it, I'm never going to trust that one again!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo was now the one to blink in confusion. She tilted her head, frowning and waiting for his answer. He eventually said, "I don't like Soo Yeon in that way." He stared at her and walked closer, "So do you know what that means?" Young-Woo tried to distance herself and reflexively took a step backwards. She whispered, "No idea."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He nodded and stepped closer to her. She felt like he was testing her. She thought of whales to keep her balance steady. She felt her heart fluttering and blush rose to her cheeks. She breathed sharply and said to herself, 'It's just Junho. My friend, my whale friend.' But when she opened her eyes, he was so close that she could feel his breath on her neck as he whispered in her ear, "I like emyou/em, Young-Woo. Not Soo Yeon or anyone else. emYou./em"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo felt her fingers clench automatically at their closeness. She was torn between wanting to kiss him and wanting to push him away. She didn't know what to do. So instead, she did nothing. Junho seemed to take this as a good sign as next thing she felt his hand brush her waist. She hadn't pushed him away yet. She felt emsafe/em even though her heart was racing./p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo felt Junho's nose on her neck. She shivered and he smiled. She didn't need to see it, but she felt it. Then the next thing she knew he had stepped back from her about a hundred feet. The speed that a mother whale rushed to protect her baby could not have been faster. She suddenly heard the voices and in walked Kang Ki Young and the presidents. Young-Woo bowed as low as she could go and then she nodded at her director. Then she hightailed it out of the conference room./p
p class="MsoNormal"There were footsteps following her and she expected to see Junho, but instead she found Attorney Ki Young. She said swiftly, "I'm sorry for being in the conference room in working hours. It won't happen again." She hoped that this was what he wanted to hear. Instead, he pulled her to the far end of the passage where nobody could hear them. He whispered, "I've heard rumors around the office today that Junho likes an attorney. The speculation is between you and Soo Yeon. It seems like you are the source of his attention."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo found herself blushing in embarrassment. Ki Kang continued, "I speak from experience...do not get yourself involved romantically at work. 99% of the time it is not worth it and your reputation will suffer." She was staring at the floor, feeling like a child being told off by a fatherly figure. She just nodded and said, "Yes, thank you for the advice." He sighed briefly, "I'm sorry I don't mean to be harsh. I just don't want to see you be distracted at work because of this. You're doing so well. Keep it up."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo nodded but wasn't sure how to respond. Ki Kang went back inside and Junho exited the room. He paused as he saw her still standing there at the end of the hallway. He simply nodded at her and then awkwardly proceeded back to his desk. She didn't know what to do. Young-Woo's head was telling her one thing but her heart was telling her another./p
p class="MsoNormal"There was lots of talk around the office this morning but Yeong-Woo was not paying attention to any of it as usual. She continued her tasks on her checklist and drew a picture of a whale instead of drawing a check every time she completed one of them for the coming case./p
p class="MsoNormal"However, when she went to grab a water bottle from the fridge and she heard Minwoo discussing Junho and someone he supposedly liked at the firm, her ears pricked up eagerly. She couldn't help it. The feelings of interest in someone other than herself didn't occur, virtually ever. So, whenever Junho was mentioned, she felt herself flush in some kind of unnatural way. She couldn't help herself. It was becoming rather embarrassing./p
p class="MsoNormal"She turned to find Minsoo saying, "Ya, we live together so we talk, you know? Last night we were having drinks and he told me he likes an attorney in the litigations team. There are only two of you so I'm guessing it's you." Yeong Woo felt her hands clench unintentionally. For some reason, thinking that Junho liked Soo Yeon made her feel...feel...she didn't know. She never felt this feeling...much. She'd have to go and check the emotions poster at home./p
p class="MsoNormal"She let it slide as she heard her colleague laugh and was leaving the kitchen area, when Junho bumped into her, "Hey, sorry. I wanted to have lunch today. Did you eat?" Yeong-Woo nodded and smiled slightly, "Yes, but it's ok. I'm going to work." She made to get out of his way but he stepped in front of her, "We haven't had lunch together all week. I miss our lunchtime." Lunchtime was time to talk about whales. How could he miss it? Nobody else did. She voiced this thought, "Why? Nobody else likes to hear whale talk."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Junho stared at her in surprise and then he frowned. She felt a strange tension between them that had never been there before. But she had also never turned him down for lunch before. He asked her worriedly, "Are you alright? Something feels...off."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo inhaled sharply and took as step back as he tried to reach an arm out to her. She whispered tightly, "I have lots to read before a meeting at 2. I can't waste time talking about whales." It was only 12 so she actually had plenty of time. But right now she didn't want to deal with people. She needed a reason to be on her own./p
p class="MsoNormal"When she reached her office, she closed the door. She started on her pile of work and leafed through the pages of the North Korean defector. She felt sorry for her. Yeong-Woo didn't often let her emotions dictate how she felt in a case, but this time was different. Something struck a cord with her and she couldn't quite put her finger on it./p
p class="MsoNormal"Half an hour went by and there was a knock on the door, "Ne..." she said as all of her colleagues did. When she glanced up, she saw Junho enter with a tray in his hands. He said, "I like whale talk because we get to spent time together." Yeong-Woo felt herself freeze. This was an unprecedented area of territory for her, and she didn't know what the correct response was. She shrugged and allowed him to come in and sit./p
p class="MsoNormal"Junho closed the door swiftly and smiled at her, "What's your case about?" She swallowed and replied, "A North Korean defector who injured an old woman and caused bodily harm for money." She refused to look at him for fear of him detecting how nervous she had suddenly become around him. He leant forward and this forced her to make uncomfortable eye contact with him, "What's going on? Something had upset you."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo grimaced and whispered tightly, "Nothing. Nothing at all. Like I said, I just have a lot of reading so..." Junho gently placed his hand on her work she was flipping through, once again meaning that she had to look him in the eyes, "I'm not leaving this room until you tell me what's going on. And I know you like your space so...I'll just wait."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He folded his arms patiently and stared at Yeong-Woo, causing the heat to rise to her cheeks. She couldn't look at him and she grated out, "I heard Min Woo talking to Soo Yeon about how close you two are." This caused Junho to chuckle, "Oh really? Why are we close?" Yeong-Woo finally looked at him in the eyes, "Because you were drinking together last night and I heard you like a litigation attorney. There's only me and Soo Yeon."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Junho nodded carefully, "Yes, that's all true. Unless, I liked men then I would be into Myung Seok, right?" He seemed to be enjoying this conversation and finding it funny. Yeong-Woo muttered irritably, "I think you should go." She hadn't even considered the option of him being interested in men. She grimaced as he leant over her desk, "Won't you look at me?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo finally forced herself to breathe deeply and open her eyes. He was so close to her face, she could feel his breath touch her lips. Junho was about to continue when there was another knock on the door. His eyes didn't waver though as he continued to stare into hers and he asked, "Do you want to let the person in?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo wasn't sure if this was a trick question. She very much wanted to close the gap between them and kiss him. She had never wanted anything (except to be a lawyer) so much in her life. Junho wasn't moving away either. There was another knock and she inhaled sharply, "Come in," forcing Junho to sit back in his seat./p
p class="MsoNormal"Luckily, he did because the next thing was that Soo Yeon had entered with a pass and a license, "We are going to visit the defendant in jail." She glanced at Junho and smiled, "Would you like to join us?" Yeong-Woo found herself thinking, 'Please say no, please say no...'/p
p class="MsoNormal"Junho smiled at her, "Thanks for the invite, but I really must head back to my desk. Got my own cases to do some research on." He bent his head in both of their directions and left. Soo Yeon stared at her in silence. Yeong-Woo asked, "What?" She shrugged and said, "What was he doing here?" Yeong-Woo replied, "He wanted to talk about whales. Let's go."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Soo Yeon looked agitated by this but otherwise didn't respond. The rest of the car ride was silent until Soo Yeon asked, "Why whales?" Yeong Woo startled in surprise. Nobody ever actually asked her that question so she replied, "Excuse me?" Soo Yeon sighed in irritation, "Why are you obsessed with whales? I mean you could have chosen anything to be obsessed with."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Woo Young shrugged. She knew the answer, but she didn't really want to share it, "I'll tell you another time." She waited for a response but Soo Yeon simple nodded and seemed to accept this answer. span style="mso-spacerun: yes;" /span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"********************/p
p class="MsoNormal"When they returned to the office, Junho smiled at them and stood up to bow. This made Soo Yeon blush and bow briefly in return. He tried smiling and Yeong Woo but she didn't feel like returning the gesture. Instead, she looked elsewhere and took herself off to the conference room. There wasn't a meeting in there so she leant against the desk and stared at the magnificent whale facing her. She remembered a few days ago when Junho had first showed the image too her and how she often snuck in here when no one was around to admire the image. It was nothing like she had ever seen before./p
p class="MsoNormal"There was a knock on the door and she jolted. She stood up straight and asked, "Ne?" Junho entered slowly and she turned away from him. He closed the door and asked slowly, "I see this is your new favourite place." She had to look at him now. She grimaced and whispered, "Yeah. Thanks to you." He grimaced and asked quietly, "Why are you so off me suddenly? Have I done something to upset you?"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Yeong-Woo inhaled sharply through her nose, trying to keep her heart from racing. She hated conflict at the best of times. This was just not her area of expertise. She turned to look him in the eye and asked, "You like Soo Yeon, true or false?" He blinked at her in confusion the same way her the same way he had asked her several weeks ago if he liked her, Young Woo. Clever and Foolish Young-Woo. How could he ever?/p
p class="MsoNormal"He swallowed and asked nervously, "Why do you think so?" Young-Woo blinked and couldn't hold his gaze anymore, "Because Minwoo was talking about someone you liked in the office this morning." Junho seemed frozen. She pushed him once to see if he was able to move. He snapped out of his reverie and said, "Damn it, I'm never going to trust that one again!"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo was now the one to blink in confusion. She tilted her head, frowning and waiting for his answer. He eventually said, "I don't like Soo Yeon in that way." He stared at her and walked closer, "So do you know what that means?" Young-Woo tried to distance herself and reflexively took a step backwards. She whispered, "No idea."/p
p class="MsoNormal"He nodded and stepped closer to her. She felt like he was testing her. She thought of whales to keep her balance steady. She felt her heart fluttering and blush rose to her cheeks. She breathed sharply and said to herself, 'It's just Junho. My friend, my whale friend.' But when she opened her eyes, he was so close that she could feel his breath on her neck as he whispered in her ear, "I like emyou/em, Young-Woo. Not Soo Yeon or anyone else. emYou./em"/p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo felt her fingers clench automatically at their closeness. She was torn between wanting to kiss him and wanting to push him away. She didn't know what to do. So instead, she did nothing. Junho seemed to take this as a good sign as next thing she felt his hand brush her waist. She hadn't pushed him away yet. She felt emsafe/em even though her heart was racing./p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo felt Junho's nose on her neck. She shivered and he smiled. She didn't need to see it, but she felt it. Then the next thing she knew he had stepped back from her about a hundred feet. The speed that a mother whale rushed to protect her baby could not have been faster. She suddenly heard the voices and in walked Kang Ki Young and the presidents. Young-Woo bowed as low as she could go and then she nodded at her director. Then she hightailed it out of the conference room./p
p class="MsoNormal"There were footsteps following her and she expected to see Junho, but instead she found Attorney Ki Young. She said swiftly, "I'm sorry for being in the conference room in working hours. It won't happen again." She hoped that this was what he wanted to hear. Instead, he pulled her to the far end of the passage where nobody could hear them. He whispered, "I've heard rumors around the office today that Junho likes an attorney. The speculation is between you and Soo Yeon. It seems like you are the source of his attention."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo found herself blushing in embarrassment. Ki Kang continued, "I speak from experience...do not get yourself involved romantically at work. 99% of the time it is not worth it and your reputation will suffer." She was staring at the floor, feeling like a child being told off by a fatherly figure. She just nodded and said, "Yes, thank you for the advice." He sighed briefly, "I'm sorry I don't mean to be harsh. I just don't want to see you be distracted at work because of this. You're doing so well. Keep it up."/p
p class="MsoNormal"Young-Woo nodded but wasn't sure how to respond. Ki Kang went back inside and Junho exited the room. He paused as he saw her still standing there at the end of the hallway. He simply nodded at her and then awkwardly proceeded back to his desk. She didn't know what to do. Young-Woo's head was telling her one thing but her heart was telling her another./p