And They Were Co-workers
Semi and Subong sat quietly (well, quiet wasn’t a word in Subong’s vocabulary, but all things considered it was relatively calm) in the private room; Namgyu had left them around ten minutes ago with the promise that someone would be up shortly.
Subong leaned his head against Semi’s shoulder, quietly rapping to himself. Semi pulled out her phone and started scrolling on Instagram. It was already past midnight and Semi needed to be at work by 5am, she was fucked to say the least.
Subong pushed himself up from Semi’s shoulder. “Where are these motherfuckers?” He complained.
Right at that moment the door creaked open. Semi shoved her phone back into her pocket as a man dressed in an all black suit walked in, the lower half of his face obscured by a black surgical mask.
“Good evening, well, I suppose a more accurate statement would be good morning.” The man sat down at the table across from them and placed a briefcase onto the table. He snapped it open, revealing an empty, black, velvet-lined interior.
“Do you have the eight million as requested?” The man asked.
Semi pulled the money out of her pocket and placed it in a neat stack on the table. “He only had 1.5”
The man stared into her eyes, beside her, Semi could feel Subong twitching.
The man reached across the table and picked up the money. Then he began to slowly count the bills. “And this was all of the money that Mr. Seong had at his disposal?”
“Yes, sir.” Semi replied.
The man clicked his tongue. “This is disappointing to say the least.” The man placed the money into the briefcase and snapped it shut. Then he straightened his suit and stood up. The man bowed. “Thank you for your efforts. Now, seeing as you were unable to deliver the requested funds, the previously stated deal has been rendered null.”
“Wait, what? What do you mean ‘rended nun’?” Subong asked.
The man exhaled. “In simpler terms, you will not be receiving any money.”
“Hey, man, we worked for that shit. You gotta give us something.” Subong protested.
The man began to walk towards the door. “You failed your assigned task. You will not be getting payment for services that you did not provide.”
Subong jumped up. “What the hell, man. G-”
The man stepped out of the door. “Farewell.”
Subong started to charge after the man but Semi held him back. “Calm down, we can’t do anything about it.”
Subong flipped off the door. “Motherfuckers always be dicking us over.”
Semi sighed. “We don’t really have much of a choice, you know what kinda force they have. And unless we rob a bank or something they hold our debt. We’re their bitch.”
Subong kicked the leg of the table. “This is all that MG Coin motherfucker’s fault, I’m gonna kill that motherfucker.”
Semi sighed. “You were still in debt before that though.”
Subong flopped back down next to Semi. “If that shit hadn’t crashed and lost all my money then I coulda paid it.”
Semi yawned. “We’re just gonna end up talking in circles, we didn’t have a solution to this six months ago and we still don’t have a solution to this. Come on, let’s go home. I want a few hours of sleep before work.”
Subong stared at the wall. “Yeah.”
☺
Semi scrunched her eyes as she tried to will herself awake for work. Her whole body felt heavy and the blankets felt like a person. Wait, what? Semi opened her eyes. Subong was lying on top of her. She stared at the top of his head before pushing him off.
Subong rolled off of the bed and onto the floor. He yelped. Semi rolled her eyes as she got out of bed and stretched. She walked around and kicked him with her foot. “You said it was cold, and I graciously let you sleep with me. With me. Not on me. Next time you can freeze by yourself until Namgyu gets home.”
Subong sat up. “Wut.”
Semi walked towards the door. “I have to go to work. Make me some coffee.” She turned around. “Please.”
☺
After a few minutes of stumbling around, Subong had made her coffee. It didn’t make a difference though. Semi still felt like a zombie as she walked into work.
“Good morning!” Junhee greeted her.
Semi stared at her for a moment. “Wasn’t Geumja supposed to work this morning?” Semi asked.
“Oh, she had to take care of something at home. I volunteered; I need the extra money. It’s in the work GC.”
Semi pulled out her phone and clicked on the work group chat. Junhee was right. Semi rubbed her eyes. “I guess I missed it. I had an eventful night.” Semi headed towards the back to begin stocking.
Junhee followed behind. “Was it at least fun?”
Semi chuckled as she pulled out the clipboard and pen. “Hell no. Did a whole buncha work for a whole lotta nothing.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” Junhee replied.
Semi started to check the boxes. “It’s fine.” She pointed to the clipboard. “When we get a shipment, before we stock it, we check this clipboard to make sure the shipment is correct. If it’s wrong, then there’s some paperwork in the office that we have to fill out and fax to the big boss.”
“Fax?” Junhee asked.
Semi tapped her pen against the clipboard. “Yep. We have to fax it because apparently email doesn’t exist.”
Junhee giggled.
Semi groaned. She pointed at a box that had been split open and half emptied. “And sometimes shit like this happens, and there’s some other paperwork we have to fill out.”
“And fax it?” Junhee asked.
Semi sighed. “Yup, and fax.”
“Faxs.” Junhee replied.
Semi chuckled. “I don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to use it, but yeah.”
Junhee nodded. “Ah, my ex used to say that a lot. Actually it was like 90% of his replies.”
Semi huffed. “Yikes, good thing he’s your ex. You deserve someone who pays their full attention to you.” She replied as she walked over to the office, she gestured for Junhee to follow.
“Thank you.” Junhee whispered.
Semi smiled. “No problem.” She flipped through the file cabinet and pulled out the paperwork. She showed it to Junhee. “Here’s the paperwork, typical stuff like date, name, etc.” Semi filled it out and signed at the bottom. She handed the pen to Junhee and pointed to the bottom. “Sign here.”
Junhee signed the paper. “Aren’t you usually alone, though?”
Semi placed the paperwork into the fax machine. “Yeah, if that’s the case, don’t worry about it.”
Junhee nodded. “Okay.”
They walked back to the stock room and Semi continued to check the shipment.
“If you don’t mind me asking, what did you do last night?” Junhee asked.
Semi shrugged. “Just my roommates getting up to shit.”
“Oh, do you not get along?”
Semi exhaled and looked up at the ceiling. “They’re crazy, but—I don’t hate them. We’ve lived together for a couple years now. They’re like dryer lint that won’t go away.”
Junhee giggled. “They sound awful.”
Semi chuckled. “They’re terrible, but—they’re my friends. I can’t imagine not having them in my life.” She turned to face Junhee. “Never tell them that, though. I will never hear the end of it. But that’s just two of them; our new roommate is super sweet.”
Junhee nodded. “I’m good at keeping secrets. So, it’s four of you? You must have a big apartment.”
Semi placed the clipboard back and picked up a box. “No, it’s two bedrooms and one bathroom.” She said as they walked back to the front.
Junhee gasped. “Wait, you share a bathroom with three other people?”
Semi opened the box and started stocking. “Not just three people, three guys.”
Junhee knelt down to help. “Oh my god, that sounds terrible.”
Semi chuckled. “It’s not too bad, one of them is a neat freak, and our new roommate doesn’t seem the messy type.”
Junhee giggled. “I’ve never met a neat guy before.”
Semi smiled. “Well, my other roommate is probably the messiest person alive, so he more than makes up for it.”
“That makes more sense.” Junhee picked up one of the bags from the bottom of the box. “I love these crackers!”
“Tuck them in your sweatshirt.”
Junhee stared at Semi. “No way, I’ll get in trouble.”
Semi shrugged. “This is a blind-spot for the cameras, and it’s a different flavor from the rest of the box, it isn’t supposed to be there anyway.”
Junhee tucked it into her sweatshirt. “Thank you, unnie.” she whispered.
Semi smiled. “No problem, and no need to call me unnie.”
Junhee giggled. “Should I call you auntie instead?”
Semi burst out laughing. “Yo-”
The bell jingled and a customer walked in. Semi looked over at Junhee. “You can check the customer out. I’ll stock, so you don’t work too hard.”
Junhee nodded. “Okay.” She paused. “Thank you, auntie.”
Semi snorted and waved Junhee off.
☺
Semi finished back-stocking the rest of the shipment and walked out. Junhee was helping an older lady check-out. Semi stood back and watched her. Junhee had such a bright, angelic smile—Okay, now Semi was being a weirdo, she walked over next to Junhee as the older lady walked out of the door.
“You’re picking it up like a natural.” Semi commented.
Junhee chuckled. “Thank you, it’s much easier than working at a clothing store.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. What did you do at the clothing store?” Semi asked.
“It was a lot like this. We had to stock clothes and check people out. I also gave advice to people and we were supposed to encourage customers to buy more outfits.”
Semi grimaced. “That sounds like a lot of work.”
Junhee chuckled. “It was more than here, but it was really fun. And we got a discount on all the clothes.”
“Okay, now that sounds nice. Clothes are so expensive.”
Junhee nodded. “Yeah, I had to leave a lot of my clothes though when-” She trailed off.
“Oh, I’m sorry.”
Junhee shook her head. “It’s okay. Things happen to everyone. I’m sure you’ve been through a lot in your life too.”
Semi nodded. “It’s still okay to feel something about shit, though. I know I was pissed when my dad died and left me with all of his gambling debt.”
“I’m sorry, that sounds terrible.”
Semi shrugged. “I’ve made my peace with it.”
“Yeah, my boyfriend convinced me to invest in one of those cryptocurrency things. Then he disappeared and I got evicted.”
Semi scoffed. “Wow, where did you even meet a loser like that?”
Junhee chuckled. “We met in high school.”
Semi shook her head. “I hope you’re able to make your money back. My roommates lost a bunch of money to one of those crypto scams too.”
Junhee nodded. “Yeah, I learned my lesson. I’m never trusting anyone who tells me that digital money is going to make me rich.”
“Is that what it is?” Semi asked.
Junhee nodded. “My boyfriend described it as just another type of money and depending on the economy it would go up.”
Semi tilted her head. “Yeah, I don’t understand.”
Junhee sighed. “I didn’t either, I just trusted my boyfriend. He had made a bunch of money off of it before, but it turns out that he was just a con man.”
Semi scoffed. “What a bum.”
Junhee chuckled. “Yeah, he really is.”
The bell jingled and they watched as another customer walked in.
Semi turned to Junhee. “You should come over later. One of my roommates has work and I’m pretty sure the other one has a concert or something.”
Junhee smiled. “Sure, that sounds fun. Wait, concert?”
Semi chuckled. “Yeah, one of my roommates is an underground rapper.”
“Oh, would I know him?”
Semi sighed. “Probably not, I mean, he lives here. So...”
“Ah, he’s not successful?” Junhee asked.
Semi shrugged. “He has a cult following.” Semi pulled out her phone. “Here, give me your number.”
Junhee accepted the phone and typed her number in before returning the phone to Semi.
Semi texted the number. “There now you have my number too.”
“I could have gotten your number from the GC too.”
Semi face heated up. “Oh, yeah, that woulda worked too. Sorry, I’m tired.”
Junhee chuckled. “It’s okay.”
☺
It was 8pm, Subong and Namgyu should have left, Semi thought as she stepped out of her room from her nap. She stared at Subong still sitting on the couch next to Minsu playing video games. “Don’t you have a concert tonight?” She asked.
Subong stared at her. “WHAT?”
Semi nodded slowly. “Yeah, you said earlier, last week, that you have a concert on the 26th.”
Subong frantically pulled out his phone and scrolled. “Shit, NAMSU! He didn’t say anything.” He shouted as he jumped off of the couch and sprinted towards his room.
“Isn’t it at a different venue?” Semi asked but Subong was already in the room.
Semi sighed and sat down on the couch next to Minsu. “Oh my god. He doesn’t remember anything.”
Minsu nodded as he turned off the TV. “He seems like a forgetful person.”
Semi snorted. “He would forget his own head if it wasn’t attached.”
Subong sprinted back out and towards the door.
Semi waved. “Have fun.”
Subong saluted her. “Yes ma’am, señorita.” And sprinted out, slamming the door behind him.
Semi chuckled and shook her head. “Ma’am and señorita mean the same thing. He knows that.”
Minsu smiled and nodded. “You’re so different, not in a bad way, but how did you meet them? I wouldn’t expect you to know people like them.”
Semi hummed. “We’re more alike than you think.” She looked up at the ceiling. “But I met Subong under a bridge when I was skipping school. We weren’t friends or anything, we just kept running into each other. And Subong met Namgyu when he performed at the club, then we just kind of ended up together.”
Minsu looked at her like he had more questions. “That’s cool.” He replied.
Semi nodded. “My co-worker is coming over, we’ll probably watch a movie or something. Is that cool with you?”
Minsu nodded. “That’s okay.”
“Cool. You can sleep in my room if you get tired before she leaves. I’ll take the couch.”
“Oh no, that’s fine.”
Semi shrugged. “It’s still an option if you change your mind.”
Minsu nodded.
There was a knock on the door and Semi hopped up. It was either Junhee or Subong forgot something again. She opened the door.
“Hello.” Junhee said as she stepped in.
Semi closed the door. “It’s cold out there. Do you have a warmer coat?” Semi asked.
Junhee shook her head. “It’s okay though.
Semi pointed at one of the jackets hanging by the door. “You can take one of these, and you can stay the night, it’s too cold for you to be out by yourself late.”
Junhee nodded. “Thank you.”
Minsu waved at Junhee. “Hi, are you Semi’s coworker?”
Junhee nodded. “I’m Junhee. What’s your name?”
Minsu bowed. “Minsu. It’s nice to meet you.”
Junhee bowed. “It’s nice to meet you as well.”
Semi chuckled. “You both make me look like I have terrible manners.”
Junhee giggled. “It’s okay, you have a really cool aura.”
Semi smiled. “Thank you.” She walked over to the couch and sat down with Junhee trailing after her. “What movie do you wanna watch?” Semi asked.
“What movies do you have?” Junhee asked.
Semi picked up the remote and turned the TV on. “Any, we cracked it so you can watch whatever. It might buffer a bit, though, because we piggy-back off of our neighbor’s WiFi.”
“Oh. Isn’t that illegal?” Junhee asked.
Semi winked. “Don’t tell anyone.”
Junhee nodded. “Can we watch Soulmate? I heard it was really good.”
“Oh, I saw that one, it’s good.” Minsu said.
Junhee turned to look at him. “Really? Don’t spoil it, please.”
Minsu waved his hands. “Oh, no, I wouldn’t do that.”
Semi chuckled as she typed in the name. A cover popped up with two girls on the front. Semi furrowed her brow. She pointed at the screen. “This one?”
Junhee nodded vigorously. “Yes!”
Semi clicked on the title, was it a yuri film? And the movie started to play. Semi stood up. “Does anyone want a drink?”
Minsu shook his head. “I’m okay, thank you.”
“Could I get some water?” Junhee asked.
Semi nodded. “Sure.” She went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and a can of beer. She handed the water to Junhee and opened her beer.
“Thank you.” Junhee said as she sipped her water.
The movie was about two girls’ friendship and their life as they grew apart and then together again. And in Semi’s opinion, it was very gay.
Junhee sobbed next to her. “That was so cute. The way that Miso continued Haeun’s art.” She sniffled. “Their friendship is so beautiful.”
Yeah, friendship. Semi thought.
“It was so sad how they were torn apart by that guy.” Minsu added.
“Right! I can’t imagine choosing a guy over my own friend!” Junhee replied.
Semi shrugged. “They were young, and it added conflict to the plot.”
Junhee nodded. “That’s true.” She yawned. “Uhm, where should I sleep?”
Semi stood up and walked towards her room. “If you don’t mind sharing a bed, this is my room. Although I can’t guarantee Subong or Namgyu won’t end up in there. They kinda just crash wherever.”
Junhee followed Semi. “Oh, you don’t lock the door?”
Semi stuck her hand through the hole where the handle should have been. “No doorknob.”
Junhee stared at the hole. “Oh. And no one peeps through?”
Semi shrugged. “Doubt it. I don’t know, I usually just change in the bathroom.” She stepped into the room. “I can put a piece of paper over it.”
Junhee followed Semi into the bedroom. “Oh, it’s okay.”
Semi nodded. She was still so tired. She laid down on the bed. “Goodnight.”
Junhee laid down next to her and turned to look at Semi. “Goodnight.” Then she closed her eyes and presumably drifted off to sleep.
Semi stared up at the ceiling, how was she supposed to sleep now?