On another part of town, Isaac bolts into his father's mansion. He cuts to the chase. He doesn't sound angry, just annoyed, "I'd appreciate if you didn't set me up with women I don't know like this, Father." His father, the chairman, is sitting on the sofa, with Isaac's mother, and they both scoff. "A man like you must have a woman like her to make you shine even more. I wouldn't have to do that if you took care of it yourself." He says, unbothered.
Isaac clenches his fist, but his voice is calm, "I just dated the actress, Junhee, and dumped her a month ago." "And?" His father asks, coldly. Isaac sighs, "Nothing. Enjoy your tea." Before his mother could stop him, he bolts off. There's no point talking to them. There never is.
Before he exits, his brother stands on the hallway, arms crossed, "Oh, no! My steaks too juicy and my lobster's too buttery!" He says, mockingly. "You ungrateful shit." He clenches his jaw, but Isaac simply ignores him.
He stops just long enough to glance at him, expression unreadable. "You don't have a say in this, Daniel." He sighs. "Oh, but I do." His brother pushes off the wall, stepping closer. "You're the heir, Isaac. The more you screw up, the more I look perfect in comparison. Honestly, keep going. Its entertaining."
Isaac's jaw tightens. For a split second, he looks ready to snap, but then he exhales, straightening his jacket. "Glad I could provide you with tonight's entertainment. If you'd like, I can give you her number, if you're so desperate." His brother scoffs, "No need to give me anything, I'll take what's mine eventually." Isaac leaves without saying anything, but his shoulders are rigid, his hands are buried in his pockets as if holding something back.
The next morning, Mina dutifully sorting through contracts, muttering numbers under her breath and making little doodles in the margins of her notes to keep herself awake. No drama sharing today, it's her little secret, for now. By the time she brings the neatly stacked files back to Isaac's office, she's practically glowing with self satisfaction.
"Here you go, sir!" she beams, setting the folders down with a flourish.
Isaac glances at the pile, nods once. "Efficient. Good work." That little crumb of praise makes Mina light up like a firework. "Heh, I try! But honestly, with someone like you running things, anyone could shine. Even me!" She twirls a pen between her fingers, grinning. "You know, it' like when you pair a plain cake with fancy frosting, suddenly it looks expensive."
Emily, standing nearby, raises her brows. The words are lighthearted, but they echo almost word for word what Isaac's father had said the night before: A man like you must have a woman like her to make you shine even more.
For some reason, that annoys Isaac a lot more now than it did yesterday. He freezes, the pen in his hand stilling mid-stroke. His jaw clenches so slightly only Emily notices. "Miss Kang, do you think everything and everyone can just be reduced to frosting on cake?People are more complex than that." Isaac adds, he knows he's saying something unnecessary. Mina blinks, clearly taken aback by the words, "Oh, that's not..." Before she can finish, Isaac interrupts, and says flatly, "And don't compare yourself to cake."
Mina tilts her head, "Why not? Cake makes people happy." A small smile forms at her lips, clearly proud of her reply. Isaac is a little surprised at her response, his eyes widen ever so slightly, before they return to normal. He looks at her paper, gesturing her to leave. Mina bows, and exits. As she leaves, Emily gives her a small smile and a nod, and she bows at her too, and goes to her cubicle.
Isaac's office was a glass cube of quiet efficiency. Outside, the city moved in slow pulses of horn and light. Within, his world was all numbers, contracts, calls, and calendars. Family obligations pinged his phone, reminders of lunches with his father, updates from his sister about her new subsidiary, notifications about scheduled dates with more elite women. a tangle of responsibilities that left him perpetually two steps ahead, yet never satisfied.
He paused at a report, eyes scanning projections, when something unusual caught the corner of his vision: a small, star-shaped sticker sticking out from one of the papers. A tiny, unnoticed detail, left after Mina's earlier delivery of paperwork. He lifted it, turning it over in his fingers, a faint smirk touching the corners of his mouth. The whimsy of it, trivial, inconsequential, contrasted sharply with the gravity of his world. His leans back in his chair, and her words echo back "Why not? Cake makes people happy." Her way of thinking had tugged something in him, maybe because it was so different from his own opinions on "cakes" and "frosting".
He didn't make a move or comment. That wasn't Isaac's way. He returned the sticker to the edge of his desk, a small, silent acknowledgment. Just as he did with the rest of her, careful observation, quiet interest, invisible proximity, something he didn't realize himself. In the world of people like him, influence was measured, power was wielded subtly, and sometimes, it came in noticing the smallest things.
The next day, the company took the juniors to one of its subsidiaries. The junior staff piled into the company van, excited and slightly nervous about the field trip. Mina bounced in her seat, a patterned blouse catching the morning sunlight, her hair braided in two. The team arrived at the branch, and chaos ensued immediately. Shelves needed checking, spreadsheets were incomplete, and the branch manager trailed behind like a whirlwind. Mina with her coworkers darted between aisles, pointing out errors, scribbling notes, and occasionally humming to herself. She was swift, identified errors almost immediately, and went straight to fixing them. All the juniors were in awe of her, and they seemed to quietly acknowledge that she is indeed special. Annie whispered from behind a shelf, "She's like a tornado with a clipboard." Others quietly nodded, and focuses on their own works.
By the end of the trip, the juniors were exhausted but exhilarated. Mina collapsed onto the van seat, whining, "But it was fun, I got to learn something new!" She said, then enthusiastically raised her fists. The senior employees laughed, "You guys did great!" Another adds, "It's been a month since you joined, and you've done exceptionally well, and we still haven't had a welcome party for you! I heard the other departments already went!"
Welcome party. Everyone's ears perk up. One of the senior staff says, with determined eyes, "I'll see what I can do!" The youngsters cheer, "We're counting on you sir!"