Page 114 of A World Apart
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumbled. “Truly the stuff of dreams.”
Chapter 34
Ididn’t get to talk to Jihoon on Thursday; by the time I got home on Wednesday it was well after 2:00am London time, and on Thursday when I’d woken up, he was already out in London filming for Weverse, but I had sent him a message to tell him how much I’d enjoyed their performance on the One Show and how much I’d liked his necklace. He’d responded with a selfie of himself sitting on a park bench, surrounded by a leafy plant. He was holding his fingers up to his face in a ‘V’, the band of braided silver clearly visible on his finger.
Joon
We get to go into the city today to film for Weverse and I know exactly where I’m going, I hope you’ll enjoy it
[Sent 07:43]
Very mysterious. I knew that each of the members was out filming their own separate episode. He’d told me Minjae was going to the National Science Museum, because he’d tried to persuade Jihoon to go with him, but I didn’t know which landmark the other members − or Jihoon − had chosen.
I’d thought we might have more opportunities to talk − with London and LA only eight hours apart − but the opposite had proven to be true, as again when I’d gotten home from work, it was in the small hours for him.
Friday had rolled around and today was the day GVibes was playing the Hyde Park Festival. They were headlining and were due to go on stage at 8:00pm UK time, which was noon LA time. It was a two-hour set though, so I couldn’t get away with hiding in the storage cave again, but I had already planned ahead for this.
I’d strategically sneezed and coughed in Jeremy’s presence all day on Thursday, to the point where he’d even ordered me to leave his office, lest I “fling my germs around like candy at a Macy’s Day Parade.”
So, it wouldn’t have been a big surprise to him when, at 7:00am, I called in sick. I’d felt a twinge of nervous guilt leaving the message. So far, of the three times I’d called in sick to work, two of them had been fake and due to me wanting to spend time with Jihoon − even if it was over an Internet connection this time.
“Did he pick up?” Becka yawned as she moved past me into the kitchenette to get a cup of coffee from the pot I’d just brewed.
“No.” I sighed.
“What’s the problem, then?” Becka frowned at me.
“I guess I just don’t like lying,” I said honestly. “He may be the Oscar Grouch of the company, but he’s a solid boss.”
Becka waved it away. “It’s not like there’s anything on today.”
“Yeah, I know, I guess I just feel like one of ‘those’ girls.”
Becka gave me a weird look over the rim of her mug. “What girls?”
“You know,” I said, flopping back onto the sofa, “those girls who suddenly drop everything in their life when they get a…” I hesitated over the word, but Becka helpfully supplied it for me.
“A boyfriend?”
“Yeah, one of those.”
“Babes, I don’t think three sick days in six months counts. Besides, you don’t get leave, paid sick days are basically your leave. Take ‘em.”
She had me there. I hadn’t believed it when Becka told me that some companies in the US treated sick leave as vacation days, like, you could bank them, or use them all up in one year. Bizarre. Back home, we just took them if we were really ill. Or wanted to stay home to watch our famous boyfriends perform in international music festivals. No big deal.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Becka hesitated, chewing on her lip.
“Spit it out, Becka.” I sighed, already feeling a thrum in my head.
“Look, I’m no one to judge a girl for a personal day.” That was a good thing, considering the last sick day she’d taken, she’d spent recuperating in the nail salon.
“I just sometimes think you’re maybe not fully embracing your life here.”
I blinked at her.
“Hear me out,” Becka began again. “I know interning isn’t the most satisfying thing you could be doing. I get that. But… in the scheme of things, interning at Pisces is kind of a big deal. And I just think that maybe you’ve forgotten that. In light of recent events.”
