"Yah, Baek Dan Hwa!" blasted the line in her ears. She squinted away for a moment as the male voice continued in the same pitch.

"Why weren't you taking my calls?! Where are you? You sure like to freak everyone out, don't you?" He breathed out. "Are you okay though?"

Dan Hwa : Not my hearing anymore, I guess.

The male spoke again after a sigh, "Alright, that didn't sound like me. I was too worried and got carried away." He added more casually, "Anyways, what are you doing right now?"

Dan Hwa : I was watching your Hello counselor episode. Baek Chan Heo, today's guest you are.

Chan Heo : Ah, it's on air today? The date slipped my mind.

Dan Hwa : So, what did you call about?

Chan Heo : Talk about you, why haven't I heard from you since so long. Everything's okay?

Dan Hwa : I guess so.

Chan Heo : Hey, did something happen at work?

She wondered for a second, if it was worth causing a fuss about the work situation to him.

Dan Hwa : Nothing, it's alright.

Chan Heo : Then, why weren't you home today?

Dan Hwa : You dropped by?

Chan Heo : Yeah. In Gangnam, I mean.

Dan Hwa, cleared on which house he referred to, grew disinterested as she leaned back on the couch, watching the muted show.

Dan Hwa : What about today? Why should I have gone there?

Chan Heo : Hey! Today-... (-sighs-) It's Uncle's birthday. There was a family dinner at home.

Dan Hwa : Ah, I might've forgotten.

Chan Heo : How could you forget? Even so, the internet might've reminded you anyways.

Dan Hwa : (-scoffs-) Right. Well, he has his fans and so many people wishing him. There's no harm if one doesn't.

Chan Heo : Ay, but you are his daughter. Infact, everything to him, you spoiled brat. He adores you so much-

Dan Hwa : (-cuts him off-) Is it? I just don't feel like I ever received any of his affection. Anyways, I am sorry. I will make sure to come next year. For sure.

Chan Heo : Dan Hwa-ya, at least call him once. Hm? It's not over twelve yet.

Dan Hwa : I am very tired today. Talk to you later.

"Eh? Hey! HEY-" Chan Heo tried to prevent her from ending the call, but he was cut off at last.
She turned off the TV screen and sighed long, resting her head. So aimless and riveted with her emotions that she lost heed of her own father's birthday.
Dan Hwa recalled the childhood days, when she would not go to bed until her father came back from his late night schedules and reviewed her little birthday cards for him.
And now was the day, the same little daughter couldn't even remember the date.

Back in her room, she contemplated for a moment, holding the phone to her that flashed his contact. With another sigh, she made her mind and carelessly plunked her phone back to charging. All the bitters that flourished inside her, made Dan hwa to block out the good times spent with her dad and drift to sleep, unbothered.

Identical to the entire week, she had another sleepless night. The medication although helped her rest for a few hours nonetheless.

Her fever went down and she was perfectly fine. From outside. A similar bland and passive expression from last day masked over her face, as she stared up at the white ceiling.

It was finally the day, when she joins back in her company after the suspension. But, lying torpid, Dan Hwa lacked any enthusiasm or incentive to move a single inch of her figure.

Tussling mightily with her uncooperative body, the responsible designer she claimed herself to be, Dan Hwa picked up her phone. And dialed a number, clearing the morning coarse in her voice.

Dan Hwa : (-over the call-) Director Nam, it's Baek Dan Hwa.

Director Nam : Yes, Designer Baek. (-in a casual tone-) Everyone's early today to welcome you.

Dan Hwa halted her words, listening to him. And even though, she would have compromised a little for everyone if she was okay. Today, was just not the right time.

Dan Hwa : Ah, I am so sorry. I actually called to take an off today.

Director Nam : Oh, what happened? Are you okay?

Dan Hwa : Um... yeah, I am fine. I just sprained my ankle this morning. And it's hard to place a step. So...

Director Nam : Oh, that's bad. All right. Don't worry about work. You can rest for today. Or maybe continue until you can join back perfectly okay.

Dan Hwa stared at the wall clock ticking the seconds forward to the day, simply thinking about how blessed she was to work in a field she absolutely loved to her core. Apart from the CEO, being a handful to everyone, Dan Hwa considered having the best work environment otherwise. Yet, she wanted to hide away from it. She wanted to escape the perception of being exposed to them or people, in general.

Dan Hwa : Thank you, Nam Team Jang-nim. Hopefully, I will join back soon.

She didn't wait for a response as her hand voluntarily slid down from her ears, feebly. The phone slipped out of her loosened hold.

Dan Hwa looked around her squeaky clean and tidy room, just how she appreciated it before. The same perfection, now seemed to strangle her out of the space.

The entire apartment was shiny and bright, quiet unlike her current self. As if, the comfortable space that literally narrated Dan Hwa's sharp yet sassy and radiant personality, no longer matched her wavelengths.

This place was where she resorted to, after having an escape from the previously suffocating house at Gangnam. The same place, now started to feel more foreign. The warmth it had before, slowly subsided beyond her sight and the ambience grew colder now.

It wasn't an overnight process. The temperatures, the seasons, the air—everything was teased a change for a long time and very subtly. She was only noticing it now. For the first time ever since the designer moved in, that she actually observed every corner of the place.

In the kitchen, she tried to divert her mind into elsewhere by pouring out some cereal to munch on with milk. There was a certain uneasy silence in that solitude, but just as much, she disliked the idea of a company.

As if, there were conflicts and dilemma in literally every thought that crossed her mind. Making her all the more unsettled and dispirited.

Miles apart in the same lines, Jimin was living a casual day off like her. He was seated along the couch, reading a book in peace.

The dias Dan Hwa found herself presented for the first time, the singer was now assimilated to the same over time.

Running away from the chaos, it was only the confines of his room where he found his silence. Concurrently, the irk of quietness made the air too stuffed to breathe in.

Disturbed conscious and inner dilemma, caused severe dismay and confounded one further into its labyrinthine wraps.

Jimin had been a regular in those twisted roads of confusion and disconcert. Until, he was blinded by it and could no longer see the tracks. Henceforth, one ordinary morning, he arrived at a psychiatrist's door in a hope for potential light in his leaden ocean of melancholy.

Dan Hwa was yet to find that door. And the tough road to it surely wasn't going to be eventful or any lenient. Just that, she was still oblivious of her needs to look for the door to her liberation. Her freedom.

A door bell faintly screeched through her senses, as she woke up from a slumber she didn't realize she was in.

The designer, languid and tired from the lack of sleep through the week, walked upto the reciever to see who it was. But, since the guest had her head not directly looking at the camera, she couldn't quite get the fuzzy picture.

Dan Hwa : Mi Jeong-ah?

"Yes my friend, open up!" exclaimed the guest looking at the camera eye outside the door.

Dan Hwa turned the digital display off and casually opened the door for her friend, who also identified as her co-worker from the same team.

Mi Jeong : You! Are you really fin- (-sees her ankle-) Can you walk though? Doesn't it hurt?

She let the guest inside and closed the door gently, following the latter to the lounge.

Dan Hwa : You came here, knowing that it doesn't, and that I can walk upto open the door for you. Didn't you?

Mi Jeong : (-scoffs-) I didn't think through all of that, okay. I just dropped by to see if you are all right, which I guess you are. Forget that. Let's say you just made the ankle thing an excuse. Are you okay otherwise?

Dan Hwa : You tell me. Do I look okay?

Dan Hwa, with a formal hospitality, handed her a glass of water while both were still standing.

Mi Jeong : Girl, what happened to you overnight? Or should I say, week? You don't speak like the Dan Hwa I had known.

Dan Hwa : How am I different?

Mi Jeong : I don't know. It's just that the feel is different. And you know what?

She rested the glass in her hand on the table and dragged Dan Hwa alongwith her to the couch.

Mi Jeong : Let's take a seat for now. Calm down. And then we can talk. It's been long, since we updated each other on stuff too.

Dan Hwa was neither interest to chat, nor had the energy to stop her from doing what she decided on. Thus, she stayed silent.

Mi Jeong : So, is it a family problem? What's bothering you so much?

Dan Hwa lifted her eyes at her, and whether or not she shares it, the designer attempted to speak the answer in her mind. Explaining her emotions or just what she felt. However, there were no words found apt or appropriate to frame her current state. The pages were blank.
Dan Hwa broke the eye contact and threw her gaze on the table.

Dan Hwa : Nothing is bothering me.

Mi Jeong : Come on. Is it your Dad? Your Mum? Or maybe your siblings?

Dan Hwa : I don't have a sibling.

Mi Jeong : Right. How would I know that you don't. You never tell me about your family. I know nothing about them.

Mi Jeong expressed herself, feeling less involved in her friend's life.

Dan Hwa : There's nothing to know. They are nothing special.

Mi Jeong : Who is looking for special? Family is family. There's no grade in it.

Dan Hwa felt her words squeeze her guts. Just that ordinary thing people addressed as 'family', was not something she was entitled to even mention about. In order to relish the luxury of countless privileges, Dan Hwa was raised to shroud herself from the light of people.

To everyone's ignorance, what felt the safer option for little Dan Hwa, it only gifted her with the fear of getting exposed. Slowly with growing age, severe anxiety around new faces or surroundings, added on. And was so far untreated or even noticed.

Mi Jeong : Anyway, why didn't you come today? You don't look sick. I mean, physically. What would I know about your inside. (-seconds apart-) Hey, why don't we consult a doctor if you feel unwell?

Dan Hwa : People who need an aid goes to the doctor, don't they? Just like you can see, I don't have a wound to aid.

Mi Jeong didn't decode her sentences more than what she literally meant. As much as she was her friend and wished to know more about Dan Hwa, Mi Jeong wanted to respect her secrecy. The guest was well acquainted to what it felt like to have secrets, that one must protect at all cost.

Mi Jeong : You used to love EunHaSu. I was inspired by your enthusiasm when I first met you. But, it just seems like that lustre is far gone now. (-a brief silence later-) Why didn't you come to work today?

Dan Hwa : I wonder why.

Mi Jeong : Yah, are you on some weird drugs? You totally don't sound like yourself.

Dan Hwa : (-smiles-) Well, I didn't feel like it today.

Mi Jeong : You skipped work, because you didn't feel like it?

Dan Hwa : Im. 

Dan Hwa promptly got up from the couch and walked into the kitchen, feeling a little hungry.

Mi Jeong : (-follows her around-) All things aside, what if the CEO finds out that you faked it?

Dan Hwa : Go, tell him then.

Mi Jeong : Yah! Don't show me your vulnerability. You never know when I might use you to my advantage.

The exact reason, Dan Hwa was always required to hide her family's identity. That people like Mi Jeong are everywhere. One day a friend, can turn into a foe the same night—the quote was repeated to her in her childhood. So much so that sadly, it had replaced all the words of affection, she must've grown up hearing.

Dan Hwa : How would you do that? You're a costume designer and I, the stage. Our works always go parallel; there's no intersection.

Mi Jeong : You will soon know how. When Nam Team Jang-nim vacates, someone has to fill his seat. Isn't that how the tradition goes?

Dan Hwa was nonplussed for a split second at her sudden announcement. There were many questions poking on her; she tried to ask them out with composure.

Dan Hwa : Nam Team Jang-nim is leaving EunHaSu? Does it have to do with the last BTS concert stage?

Mi Jeong : Well, if it comforts you in any way. It is not that reason. The CEO has nothing to do with it.

Dan Hwa, known for her poker face, stood with one as her eyes caught on the wall clock, behind Mi Jeong.

Dan Hwa : Leave.

Mi Jeong : What?

Mi Jeong was flustered at her sudden and straightforward response, coming to her a little rude.

Dan Hwa : Lunch break is over. Leave now or you'll be late.

The guest released the breath she was holding and softened her sharp expressions, getting her bag from the couch. Ready to leave.

Mi Jeong : See you at office tomorrow.

With that final comment, Mi Jeong simply left the apartment. Once again, the numbing silence filled the cold space.

The next day at EunHaSu, Dan Hwa finally convinced herself to join back. Her team members, not expecting her then, were caught surprised to see her suddenly and immediately rushed to their desks. They pulled out cylindrical items from their drawers and blasted some confettis in the air, as they welcomed her with a loud cheer.

The director, listening to the muffled bustle, came out from his cabin. He smiled seeing Dan Hwa, brushing herself off the small papers.

Noticing her ankle, the team leader confirmed that he guessed it right. But, he singled out not to inquire her on it. Director Nam knew, if someone as diligent and dedicated like Dan Hwa was pulling up excuses to miss work, they must really need that break.

The happy pill of the team, designer Lee, then made his way to her with a bright smile. Everyone patiently watched them converse.

Mr.Lee : You're finally back, Baek!

Dan Hwa : (-unamused-) Yeah, and I came back from living a penalty. So, I don't see if I deserve this grand welcome. I didn't win a battle.

Mr.Lee : Well, you didn't deserve the penalty either. But, you successfully went through it like a fighter. This is equivalent to winning a battle.

Dan Hwa : You know what, here's an idea. You should really tape your words and listen to it yourself. You say good things, you should hear it too.

The hint of sarcasm in her words pressed on his buttons certainly, but the male designer took a deep breath in silence. He least wanted to oil an arguement they might get into. Even a friendly bicker was something, he didn't want them to have today.

Mr.Lee : Hey! Everyone was being considerate towards you. And tried to welcome you heartily. "Ah, thank you so much everyone, I really appreciate it." Can't you just phrase this like a normal person?

Dan Hwa rather mocked him by mimicking his exact tone and posture as she repeated the words verbatim. Everyone in the room laughed and Dan Hwa chuckled, making her way out of the space to her shared cabin with Lee Jun.

To avoid questions like Mi Jeong's, seeing the change in her yesterday. She greeted the director on the way, with a simple smile.

Director Nam : Welcome back, Designer Baek.

Dan Hwa : Yes, thank you.

The entire day of work seemed to travel in a usual timeline and ended in a group meeting, in the conference hall.

Quite to her unconsciousness, Dan Hwa had that characteristic still face. But, today a certain glum was visible out of the ordinary.

Having an indistinct murmur among the team members settled far off, Director Nam cleared his throat.

Director Nam : Can I be involved in the important matter too?

"We were thinking whether to ask you or not," one of them voiced their discussion. The same continued, "Well, Baek Seonbae-nim saved us all and returned after so long, shouldn't this call for a celebration too?"

Dan Hwa sighed and attempted to shut them, finding it too trivial and having made a deal out of it. But, the director stopped her.

Director Nam : It's all right. (-to them-) And how are you planning to do that?

"Well, why don't you treat us to dinner. It's been ages," a different speaker placed the idea.

Director Nam : (-chuckles-) As much as I would love to. I don't have money, people. Broke right now.

"Ay, you expect us to believe that?" This time a female voice came around. 

And soon enough a loud babel filled the room, asking the Team leader to fulfil their needs. Director Nam hadn't mention his talk with the CEO, that he was cut off his wage for a few months until the EHS funds were compensated. And felt he shouldn't take that off from his hard working team. Hence, he gave in.

Director Nam : All right, all right. Let's go. Dinner's on me.

Amidst the happy cheer and hoots, Mi Jeong's voice broke through, making everyone look at her in silence.

Mi Jeong : . . .

______

😁
Wasn't that a good hanger?

Behind the scenes:

Yesterday, after the call with Dan Hwa, Director Nam had her words trouble him the entire time. Thus, he called Mi Jeong separately at a corridor, beyond everyone's sight.

Director Nam : Can you drop by and see if she is really doing okay?

Mi Jeong : Well, I can do that for sure. But, if she said she hurt herself, wouldn't that be true?

Director Nam : I know, I want to believe her too. But, it is just not fitting in. You see, she is the kind of person to come to work even with a cast around her ankle. And you are her friend, so I was hoping you could maybe check on her once.

Mi Jeong : All right. I will go to her place around the lunch hour.

Director Nam : Cool. And don't mention it that I sent you to her.

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