Replies (hana) - Tumblr Posts

"Do you have to smoke here? If my boss smells that on me she'll send me home again. She sent me home last week for wearing a belt that didn't match my shoes! She'll kill me if I come back smelling like cigarettes." Trying to talk Cleo out of her bad smoking habit seemed useless enough, but it was adding to Hana's headache on top of her already irritating day.

How badly she didn't want to go back to work. "I know I can't write. Or draw, but you think I could get away with freelance tattoo work like you?" she asked, practically begging, if it meant she could stop her current position. "I didn't think it was going to be this difficult. After a full year. She's driving me insane -- no amount of money she throws at me is going to make it any better."

@lovscenarios // starter from hana

"I need this job. If you're looking for a temporary assistant, I'm perfect! I have plenty of experience, and my boss is out of the country for the year -- I'm yours until then!"

It wasn't professional and Hana knew it, but she was getting desperate. How was she supposed to know her boss would leave so suddenly? Hana couldn't even blame her considering what her family was going through, and was sure Seoyun had other things on her mind than her assistant.

But what else would pay her bills and what else was she trained to do?

"At least give me a week. If you hate me, then send me away."

@hymnoire // starter from Hana

"She'll be with you shortly. Is there anything I can get you in the meantime? About ten minutes."

@xseaofrosesx // starter from hana

Hana knew it was being desperate to show up; but she really was. She'd made a reputation for herself even as an assistant, which she didn't even know what possible. It wasn't as if she planned on making a career out of it, but she'd grown too comfortable when Seoyun decided to handle her own matters.

Her eyes went wide momentarily when questioned about her former boss's sudden disappearance. It wasn't Hana's place to say anything, so she hoped Gaya wouldn't question it further; regardless how upsetting it was for Hana to be out of a job, she still respected Seoyun.

"Oh. I'm brutally honest. You won't have to worry." She nearly fell to her knees in gratitude to be given one week to prove herself. Perhaps already too brazen, but like Gaya said, desperate. "Whatever it is you need. That's my whole purpose." She wasn't a stranger to those early in the morning calls, whether it be to set up a meeting or to grab a snack her boss craved.

Kang Gaya stands tall, her usual air of power, even though she’s clearly irked these days. "Assistants," she starts, "How would I survive without them?" She muses. She knows her reputation, how she can be demanding with her assistants but she pays them well, treats them well too, despite what people could think. Word had been circulating for a while now: her own assistant was pregnant and would soon have to resign. "Huh," Gaya scoffs to herself, though she masks her frustration. After all, she can't sound like a monster for being annoyed. She must at least pretend she’s happy for her assistant's to get a baby or something. Hana heard of the rumor, obviously. Everyone had. It was a good timing then : Hana is looking for a new boss, and Gaya is already on the hunt for a replacement. "I did say I wanted all applications to go through the process," Gaya says, her sharp eyes locking with Hana’s. "That I would thoroughly review CVs and carefully select my new assistant myself. You're being unprofessional coming here Hana-ssi, but I do know Seoyun. And you have a good reputation. Maybe your audacity is going to pay off." Gaya crosses her arms, tapping a finger on her own sleeve. "So, Seoyun-ssi really left for an entire year, huh? Why is that?" Gaya muses aloud, wondering why, perhaps a secret Hana won't reveal . "Fine," she concludes with a smirk, "We’ll start with a week. See how it goes. But tell me, how far are you willing to go for this job? I’m not as tyrannical as people say. I just need someone reliable, someone I can trust. Someone I can wake up at 3 a.m. if necessary, and someone who’ll be honest when I ask for opinions." She grimaces briefly, recalling her previous assistant. "Right," Gaya says with a hint of exasperation, "The last one was just an ass-kisser. I appreciate flattery, but I value honesty."

Hana politely bowed her head and gave the man a bit of space, closing the office door behind her to find her boss but unable to stop herself from breathing out a gentle "wow" when the door was closed. The man was way too attractive for Hana to just keep her calm, and couldn't help but open the door again and peek her head to stare at the man.

"...um..." Um? Hana's eyes widened. "Let me go find her for you..." Her, as in the person he was there to meet. Her boss -- who was now missing when Hana went to pull her out from whatever meeting she was in. Only to find that Seoyun, the ever reliable person she worked for, had left the building and wouldn't be coming back until later in the evening. Hana only knew after receiving a text and a promise to return later, leaving Hana to have to face the attractive man and tell hm that the person he was supposed to be meeting with bailed.

Youngsoo shook his head and carefully sat down. He sipped his coffee before shaking his head. "No, I'm fine thank you for asking."

When Hana heard one week, she thought she'd have time to get ready, maybe one day to get collected, but it didn't turn out that way. Suddenly she was sitting in a desk that wasn't hers, looking at a few really ugly plants that she would move when she had time, and frantically looking around for her planner that she usually always kept with her whenever her boss needed something for scheduling. That planner was at home with the rest of her stuff, so she improvised by jotting it down on the notes section of her phone.

"Got it, got it," she agreed to each of Gaya's requests. And no, Hana wasn't ready to go, but she wasn't about to lose the opportunity when she needed this job. Hana was a frantic, frazzled mess most of the time, with a big mouth, but she was a good assistant. "Oh! I do have one question though -- what do you do?" she asked, not having the slightest clue as to what the company was or what Gaya was. That wasn't probably the right question to ask, though Hana would prove herself one she got her bearings.

"Well, desperate and dedicated, I love that," Gaya says with her usual tone—a little sarcastic, but she doesn't mean harm. She needs someone as well after all, pretty badly since the other is pregnant. "Alright, we’ve got a long day ahead, so come on, follow me," she commands, walking toward the office doors that she open wide. Her assistant’s desk is right outside her own for practical reasons. Well, it was her desk. It can be Hana's now. It is pretty spacious and clean, the entire building is pretty pristine after all. "Here, you can have her desk for the week or for the year if you do a good job. Take her plants away of you want, I don’t care. I do know she is not dead, just pregnant but hmm, put it all in a box or whatever." Gaya grabs a pile of notebooks from the desk, towering so high that it nearly blocks her from view. She shoves them, along with a laptop, into Hana’s arms. "Here, take these too. They’re all the notes you’ll need. I ask my assistant to write down everything she observes. It’s important. In case I forget the tiniest thing that I can use against the people waiting to watch me fail." She adds two phones onto Hana’s pile now. "Phone one is for anything related to Kang and Associates. Phone two, my social agenda," she says casually, walking off toward the coat rack. Hana’s nearly swallowed by the pile of notebooks, laptops, and phones but well, the job requires it. "Tonight, my cousin Bellamy is throwing another grand charity event and you're coming with me. He’s going to pose as Seoul’s most generous soul. It is a lie, obviously, but I have to attend or else I will be called a Witch in Dispatch again. Valentino wants to dress me; I have fittings awaiting for me. I’m telling you this as you couldn't possibly know but starting now, I won’t have to—you’ll be taking all my calls and emails and I will be the one questionning you about my schedule. Gaya speaks, slipping on her coat with a practiced elegance. Yes, coat on, shades on.." So... ready to go?"

"Um...Seoyun won't be here today, unfortunately." Hana's back was against the wall. In this case, literally, her arms behind her back pressed against the door she'd just entered from. "Something came up and she had to step away. We can always reschedule -- if you'll leave your number I can -- not like that!"

Hana's breath caught in her throat. How was it she still had this job? "Or your work number, if that's easier to reach you."

Youngsoo was sitting there quietly sipping of his coffee and looking at his phone. He wasnt going to make a fuss. He would be patient as it was his day off. Though, Youngsoo being the diligent workaholic. He was married to his work and never knew how to take time to himself.

But her boss wasn't the worst person in the world. Hana could see how stressed Seoyun would get at work, how particular she was, how...demanding she could be. At the end of the day, all Seoyun had was Hana and ultimately trusted the assistant with so much.

"I can't leave," she said after a moment of breathing to calm down the little rant she'd let out. "Oddly enough, for as particular as she is, she's actually really smart. She isn't nice, but she cares if that makes sense...I think I just need a vacation." Hana leaned her elbows on the table and pressed her face in to her palms, messing up her hair in the process. "Cleo, can we run off somewhere for the weekend?"

" every time you talk about your boss, she sounds like the worst person in the entire world . . . i'm willing to bet you're like her millionth personal assistant, unnie, " a soft chuckle leaves cleo's lips as tattooed & ring - clad fingers flick the end of her cigarette before opting to stomp it out. the last thing she wanted was for hana to get into any more trouble with the woman she worked for. cranium tilts & her arms cross over her chest, the busy streets of south korea acting as background music to their conversation. " is it really that bad ? " the artist frowns. " — you should just quit. the owner of this shop has like five more; i bet he could use an assistant ! "

Hana felt pretty peaceful waking up. It was a nice morning, sun on her face, air just chilly enough she was comfortable, and a nice big stretch and a pop in her back later she was getting up. Her eyes were still closed and she ran a hand through her hair, going to take a step and her foot catching something.

Or someone. A body. Hana went tumbling over him immediately, thudding on the ground in surprise and waking her out of her comfortable sleepy state.

"You never left?" she asked, a dull ache in her hip where she'd fallen. She spoke so casually as if it was completely normal for Salem to just sleep on the floor by her bed. "When did you sleep here, I have a couch!'

@seoulstreet // starter from Hana

"Married? What did you say? Or..." Hana actually didn't want to know. She rolled her eyes. "Actually...not a bad idea. If we get married it means I have an excuse to quit my job."

open starter ; open to all

DONGMIN; thirty-three, he/him

"My mother thinks we are going to get married... She won't let us live now that she thinks so."

Hana tried not to let her shaking show when she took the card. "I'll make sure Seoyun will make some room for you. If you don't mind me asking, just so I can prioritize her schedule, what was it you were hoping to achieve by meeting her?" she asked. "She likes to have some business escalated over others." And partly because she was nosy as to why such a handsome man was trying to meet Seoyun in the first place.

Youngsoo who had gotten off the phone looking up as he heard a voice. "We can definitely reschedule. He dug around in his pocket looking for his business card. He grabbed one and pulled his pen from behind his ear. He scribbled down his number on the card before handing it to her. "Here you go."

Hana sensed the change in tone immediately. But like she said, she was brutally honest, sometimes didn't have a filter, and Seoyun actually respected that out of her.

"Um...yes?" she said. "I don't know. But does it really matter?" Ok, that sounded bad. Actually, it sounded rude. Hana shook her head and tried to ignore the daggers being glared in to her by her new boss. "I really don't care what it is that you do. You're my boss -- I just want to make sure that I can accommodate my schedule around yours and depending on what your job entails, I guess it will work with mine, too. I want to plan for that." Like Hana also said, she was a good assistant. Probably spoke too much, but good.

Gaya couldn't be more satisfied; Hana had proven herself to be a diligent assistant, seemingly ready to step up and take the role Gaya needed. In truth, Gaya could have easily managed without Hana today, but this spontaneous happening was a test. It was her way of seeing if Hana would indeed stand by Gaya’s side no matter the circumstances—especially unpredictable ones like taking the job on the spot. Bellamy's charity event, however, is a challenge of its own. It wasn’t just a social obligation; it had deep personal weight. Gaya didn’t get along with her cousins, and in a family like the Kangs, where wealth, power, and prestige were inherited, rivalry was expected. Yet, for Gaya, it was more than rivalry. It was war. The future of the Kang family inheritance hung in the balance, and she took that very seriously. She would need a trustworthy assistant by her side at this event and all the others that would follow. There were grand plans to execute. After all, Gaya knew Soyeon wouldn't have chosen an incompetent assistant. She trusted her judgment at the very least. So, when Hana agreed to join her for the day, Gaya was pleased. Coat on, purse in hand, she was ready to face whatever lay ahead. But Hana's question breaks the moment. It raises an eyebrow from Gaya. “Are you telling me you don’t know what I do?” Gaya asks her voice more .. severe. It is the type of question that demands only one answer. “You want to work for me,” she continues, “but you don’t know what I’m in charge of here?”

Hana wished she could disappear in to the wall. Her eyes were wide, but still managed to keep a professional composure otherwise. "See you around!" she said, though that felt like the wrong thing to say back to him. "I'll -- I'll contact you when we have some time." As if her other hand wasn't clenched around his card soaked with the sweat from her nerves.

Youngsoo tilted his head as he wasnt expecting to be asked that. "You dont have to make our meeting high on the priority list. We both have busy schedules but, I'll try to meet up with her again. See you around??"

"Ah..." Hana didn't think she could study enough to try and match up with a lawyer, though she'd seen Seoyun's old schedule met with a lot of lawyers regarding contracts.

"So I should prepare to deal with angry customers, then?" she asked, thinking of all the reasons people would be coming to Gaya and wondering if she should prepare to set the mood when people come in to the office. "Don't worry about the social engagement. I'm great with remembering faces. And names. If it requires studying, I can get it done. Just sometimes have to stop me if I start talking too much."

Does it really matter? Gaya almost escalates further. "Excuse me—" she starts, but Hana stayed calm and collected explaining her point of view. Gaya crosses her arms, tilting her head slightly, studying her. “You’ve got nerves.” It is too soon for Gaya to admit that she likes Hana’s boldness, but she couldn’t deny that her strong personalities is a plus and what the former assistant lacked terribly. "Kang and Associates. The firm is my family's, but I run it now. I've been a lawyer for exactly ten years, and since taking the reins, I'm not on court anymore but I handle everything else—from overseeing cases to managing the firm's future direction. But, it's not just the work at the office. I have social obligations as well. It’s not my favorite part of the job, but my reputation demands it. So, I expect my assistant to manage not only the professional side but also those social engagements, the same way you did for Soyeon."