"My friend. You can go now."
Dong-ha brushed off Jaehee's hand as if she were a nuisance, and her hand dropped with a soft thuk into empty air.
All of Jaehee's nerves were directed at Yoojin. She pressed down the rising sharpness inside her and plastered a dazzling smile across her face.
"Hello, I'm Jaehee, leader of INOX, debuting next spring. You can call me Jackie."
Yoojin immediately recognized the glint behind that bright smile—the sly, poisonous look she had seen countless times from the jealous ones when she had been a prima donna in her previous life.
"Hello. I'm Han Yoojin, Dong-ha's middle school classmate."
Before Yoojin could even finish, Jaehee tugged on Dong-ha's arm and leaned in close to him.
A sudden, overwhelming fatigue washed over Yoojin.
She really needed to go home now.
"Dong-ha, I'm going to head out."
Yoojin clutched her coat and bag as she spoke—Jaehee's presence didn't affect her in the slightest.
Seeing the exhaustion written all over her face, Dong-ha knew he couldn't hold her back any longer.
But it was fine. Starting tomorrow, they'd begin their internship together at Samho Apparel.
"Wait, I'll take you home."
"No, my place is far from here. I'll just take a taxi. You have work tomorrow too."
"It's late, though."
When Dong-ha spoke gently, almost soothingly, Jaehee snapped her head toward him with a startled look at his unfamiliar tone.
"You said she was a friend earlier? You sure about that?"
Dong-ha frowned, eyes glued to the slender fingers clutching Yoojin's coat and bag.
The Latin music that had filled the hall faded out. Those who had enjoyed the social dancing looked regretful yet cheerful.
The colorful lights dimmed, and the bright fluorescents rose—changing the atmosphere instantly.
"Dongha, it's Sexy Back today, right?"
Daeho asked, checking again. Dong-ha pushed his hair back with a long hand and grumbled.
"Hyung, I've got a guest today. Can't Cheol-oh do it? He always does."
"Cheol-oh? He already left. Said he sold all the dance shoes and bolted out of here."
Dong-ha swallowed a curse.
Line dance was originally Cheol-oh's responsibility. But with new members joining today, Cheol-oh must've gotten too absorbed in selling shoes.
It had been Dong-ha's mistake to accept doing a special line dance class—only because he wanted to show Yoojin he could dance something other than ballet.
And now she was leaving at this timing.
He didn't care about the damn line dance anymore. He was just about to tell Daeho he couldn't teach today.
Yoojin waved lightly at him.
"You promised earlier, so keep your promise. I'll head out after watching you teach. Don't worry about me."
Her words instantly swept away the irritation that had been rising in Dong-ha.
"Alright. It's only about fifteen minutes. Wait just a bit—I'll take you home afterward."
"Okay."
Yoojin smiled and sat on the drawer under the wardrobe along the back wall.
Only then did Dong-ha walk across the hall and stand with his back to the mirrored wall, facing the group.
"Sexy Back line dance, starting now."
The members formed lines facing him.
Jaehee naturally took her place beside him, looking up at him with bright expectation, and Dong-ha didn't bother stopping her.
Seeing them standing side by side, something uncomfortable stirred in Yoojin's chest.
She forced her gaze away and looked at the other members instead.
Most of the women who'd come straight from work were wearing skirts or tight leggings.
Only then did she realize how out of place her structured blazer and wide-leg suit pants looked in this space.
As if suddenly becoming aware of her real-world self, she pulled out her forgotten phone.
[Honey, how was today? Call me.]
[Yoojin-ah, Yoojin-ah! What are you doing? Are you done?]
Her mom and Seryun had both called and texted repeatedly. Because of the orientation earlier, her phone had been on silent.
She was about to reply when Seryun called—the screen lighting up.
"Hello?"
— YOOJIN! If your orientation is done, you should've called me right away!
The loud voice pierced through the speaker.
"Sorry, I came somewhere afterward."
— Where?
With more than fifty people moving around Dong-ha's class, the background noises blended into a chaotic mess.
Trained musician Seryun picked up the situation instantly.
— Bending your body? A chest wave? … Are you at a DANCE CLASS?
Her shocked voice spilled out of the phone.
"No, no—nothing like that. I'm just at Dong-ha's studio."
— What are you doing there?
"There's a salsa club class going on."
— OH MY GOD—YOOJIN! TAKE ME THERE! I want to dance salsa so bad!
That tiny pebble Yoojin casually dropped came back at her like a boulder. Maybe she shouldn't have told Seryun. But Seryun was too quick—hiding it forever would've been impossible.
"Okay, I'll talk to Dong-ha."
— You MUST. And you have to go with me!
"We'll see."
Yoojin dodged vaguely. She didn't want to disappoint Seryun by saying she wasn't going to dance anymore.
"I need to go now. It's too late."
— Fine. Call me again. I mean it!
Seryun's voice was excited.
As Yoojin hung up, the urge to leave the studio became overwhelming. Her mom must be waiting anxiously too.
Time to really go.
Out on the floor, Dong-ha—still in his dress shirt and slacks—demonstrated basic moves.
His body arched upward as he taught the wave; the sight glimmered for a moment.
Yoojin forced herself to look away, gathered her things, and slipped out of the studio.
Ten minutes later, Dong-ha wrapped up the line dance class quickly and scanned the hall for Yoojin.
But she was nowhere.
She had definitely been here at the start.
His mood dropped.
Then he saw it.
Blue salsa shoes.
The beaded embroidery sparkled faintly where she had been sitting.
"Damn it."
She had left her shoes.
Dong-ha bolted outside.
Just like back when she quit ballet and vanished without warning—Yoojin had slipped out of his hands again.
Maybe she was trying to catch a taxi?
Taxis were hard to find late at night in Gangnam—maybe she was still out there, cold, waiting?
But the boulevard was full of strangers rushing past.
Only the chill remained.
*
The next morning, 8:10 AM.
Yoojin stood in front of Samho Apparel's office building, staring upward.
The seven-story building sat across from Samho Group's main HQ—a relic among the towers of Teheran-ro.
When Chairman Yoon Taeyoung took over as the third chairman, he'd remodeled the old building by covering the exterior with metal panels—a symbolic first step in his philosophy of embracing the old but innovating for the new.
Inside the lobby, a security guard in a blue uniform—old enough to be her father—greeted her warmly.
"Hello, how may I help you?"
"Hello, I'm Han Yoojin, the new intern."
"Congratulations. Which team?"
"Overseas Trade."
"I see. Fifth floor."
"Thank you."
His expression dimmed slightly—but she was too excited on her first day to notice.
On the fifth floor, Yoojin stepped out of the elevator.Her breath deepened naturally—a habit she developed before ballet performances.
Maybe that was why the office hallway felt like a new stage.
[Overseas Trade Part]
A sign hung overhead.
Desks were divided into clusters of six with partitions labeled: Overseas Logistics, Overseas Materials Procurement, Overseas Production Management.
But something was off.
It was close to the 8:30 start time, yet only one woman was typing furiously.
Every other desk had bags and personal items placed on them—so people had come in, but stepped out.
Yoojin suddenly thought of her onboarding partner, Dong-ha.
Should she call him?
Then she realized—she didn't even have his number.
Yoojin approached the typing employee.
"Hello, I'm the intern assigned to Overseas Trade. I'm Han Yoojin."
The petite woman flinched, then turned. Her head tilted slightly, and she replied in a firm voice:
"Two interns, then. Hold on. Everyone else went to get morning coffee—come with me."
The typing sped up even more.
Yoojin finally took in the surroundings—piles of neatly cut fabric samples, large bags of cloth scattered everywhere, papers stacked messily across desks.
The woman clicked her mouse rapidly, then stood up.
"I'm Yoon Sunyoung. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. But you don't have to leave because of me…"
"Our team always has morning coffee time. It's mandatory. I can't skip it."
Sunyoung's eyes narrowed slightly.
Something felt off about this new intern.
Too… fresh.
Sunyoung was 26 and thought they'd be around the same age, but Yoojin radiated an odd sense of youth that didn't fit.
"Did you already graduate?"
"I'm graduating next February."
What? Is she just insanely baby-faced?
Sunyoung pouted.
"Twenty-four?"
"I'm… twenty-one."