How to take care of Jiwon

“Again?”

You don’t even look up from your computer screen. You already know who it is.

There’s a giggle, followed by the sound of someone shuffling through your things. You sigh, rubbing your temple before shooting a glare at the intruder currently invading your workspace, who is none other than Kim Jiwon (or Liz), your childhood friend turned idol from one of the biggest girl groups, IVE, standing beside your desk like she owns the place.

“Can you not touch my stuff?” you grumble, snatching a framed photo from her hands before she can get any dumb ideas.

She blinks at you innocently. “You keep this here?”

You glance down at the picture, already knowing which one she’s referring to. It’s an old, slightly faded photo from elementary school. Jiwon, missing her two front teeth, flashing a peace sign, while you stand beside her with the grumpiest expression imaginable. You had never liked taking pictures, but she had insisted back then. Looking at it now, you don’t even remember why you agreed to keep it on your desk.

“It’s just decoration,” you mutter, setting it back down.

“Sure, sure.”

She doesn’t leave. Of course, she doesn’t, you’re already used to this little routine.

Despite her packed schedule, Jiwon always finds time to drop by your office whenever she’s at the company. She claims it’s because she’s curious about what you do, but you know better. The real reason? She is lowkey sadistic and just enjoys annoying you.

Like right now, she picks up your stationery, taps at your keyboard, sometimes even steals your coffee purely because “staff coffee tastes different.” You tolerate it because, well… it’s Jiwon. You’ve known her since you were kids.

It’s still crazy how you both ended up here…and to this day, you still don’t know how the hell that situation happened.

You had only been working at Starship Entertainment for about a month at that point. Just a regular staff member, trying not to get scolded, running around delivering paperwork, managing schedules. Pretty much nothing out of the ordinary.

Then came that time. One of your first bigger assignments had been to handle some logistics for IVE’s new comeback. Simple enough. Make sure the equipment was working, ensure the space was ready, help with any requests. What wasn’t routine was somehow ending up in a storage closet with a girl in a hoodie, a bucket of spilled cleaning supplies, and the worst case of déjà vu you’ve ever experienced.

…Let’s back up.

That day, you had been in a rush, carrying a stack of documents for the management team when you took a wrong turn down a hallway you didn’t usually use. It led to one of the storage rooms, where cleaning supplies and extra equipment were kept.

The door was slightly open. Then, without warning, BAM!

Something — or someone — barreled right into you, sending both of you stumbling backwards into the closet.

The door slammed shut behind you. And for a moment, you just laid there on the floor, trying to process the fact that you had just been body-slammed into a janitor’s closet. Your head throbbed. You could hear the faint creak of a mop falling somewhere nearby.

“…Wait. Grumpy?”

You froze.

That voice. That stupid voice.

Slowly, you looked up. And there, crouched in the dim light, staring at you like she had just seen a ghost — was the one and only. Your childhood friend. The same girl you hadn’t seen in years in a janitor’s closet. With you.

What. The. Hell.

“…What are you doing here?” she asked, blinking rapidly.

You stared at her. “What are you doing around here in the management area?”

“I asked first!” “I work here!”

That seemed to short-circuit her brain for a second. Her eyes widened, then darted to the staff ID clipped to your shirt. Slowly, realization dawned on her face.

“…You work at Starship?”

“Yes?!”

“Since when?!” “Since I got hired, duh!”

Jiwon opened her mouth. Then closed it. Then opened it again. She blinked. Then she bursts out laughing.

“You—You actually work here?” she wheezed, clutching her stomach. “Oh my God, this is unreal. This is so unreal.”

“Tsk.” You scowled. “Glad to see my suffering is entertaining you.”

“I can’t believe this! We literally grew up together, lost contact, and now you’re working for my company? This is insane.” She wiped at her eyes, still laughing. “And, wait, you of all people? You always hated dealing with people!”

“Yeah, well, life’s funny like that,” you muttered. You rubbed your temples, exhaling through your nose. “Okay, but why were you sneaking around?”

Jiwon suddenly looked away, suspiciously avoiding eye contact. “No reason.”

“…You were stealing snacks from the practice room again, weren’t you?”

“…Maybe.”

And that was how you reunited.

You had spent a solid fifteen minutes stuck in that closet with Jiwon before someone finally found you two. The rest of the staff had been utterly confused, and you had to endure Jiwon wheezing with laughter for the rest of the day. Ever since then, she had made it her personal mission to annoy you at work which, brings you to now.

“Alright, stay put. Don’t touch anything,” you warn as you stand from your desk, stretching your arms before grabbing your phone. “I need to get some files from the storage room.”

Jiwon, perched on the edge of your desk like she owns the place, swings her legs lazily. “No promises.”

You narrow your eyes. “I mean it. Hands off.”

She hums innocently, lips curling into a playful smile. “Of course, of course.”

You don’t trust her one bit.

Still, you leave, because you have to, but you throw one last suspicious glance over your shoulder before stepping out.

The door clicks shut…and Jiwon immediately disregards your warning.

“Don’t touch anything,” she mocks under her breath, rolling her eyes. As if she could ever listen to that. “Bleh. What are you, my mom?”

She stretches her arms with a yawn, then lazily lets her fingers drift across your desk, poking at whatever looks mildly interesting. The keyboard? Tap. A stack of documents? Poke. Your half-empty coffee cup? Swirl.

And then she sees it. A small, slightly worn notebook tucked beside your monitor, the corner peeking out as if daring her to take a look.

Curious, she pulls it free and flips it over in her hands. The second she reads the cover, her breath catches in her throat.

“How to Take Care of Jiwon the Annoying Child”

She blinks. Once. Twice.

Then, a slow, delighted smile spreads across her face.

“Oh?”

Her heart beats a little faster as she carefully flips the first page. The handwriting is neat—your handwriting. She skims over the lines, amusement bubbling in her chest.

- Jiwon gets grumpy when she hasn’t eaten. Always have snacks on hand.

She giggles. “So that’s why you always have extra snacks.” She flips to the next one.

- She gets sleepy after eating too much. Don’t let her nap on the practice room floor. Would be annoying to tend to the sick Jiwon.

A small gasp escapes her lips. “Wait, is that why you always wake me up first?”

Another page.

- If she’s sad, buy her ice cream. Preferably chocolate.

Her heart flutters. You really do notice everything, huh? She keeps reading, her amusement growing.

But the notes start getting weirder.

- If she starts humming randomly, she’s in a good mood. If she’s humming AND staring at me, she’s plotting something. Probably my usual dose of suffering.

“What do you mean?”

- DO NOT let her near a stray cat. She will try to take it home.

“That happened one time, trust me–”

- If she says ‘Trust me,’ DO NOT TRUST HER.

“Damn it! Okay, fair.”

The notes only get more ridiculous.

- She once ate an entire cake by herself just to prove she could. Do NOT challenge her to food-related dares.

- If she looks too smug, she probably stole my drink.

- If she looks too cute and uses her dumb aegyo, she’s about to ask for a favour.

Her giggles come uncontrollably now. She flips through the pages quickly, eager to see what else you’ve written. But then the notes stop being ridiculous. They start being…

- When she’s nervous, she fidgets with her necklace. Let her hold onto my sleeve instead.

Her fingers touch her necklace instinctively. “Huh…you do wear long sleeves every time we meet…”

- Jiwon acts tough, but she cries at sad movies. Keep tissues ready.

Her laughter softens. “No I don't…mostly…”

- She overworks herself even when she’s exhausted. Sometimes she just needs someone to tell her to rest.

Her heart clenches.

And then, the last note. It might have been scribbled out but…She stares at it. She couldn’t unsee it after once.

- If she ever gets too tired, remind her she doesn’t have to do everything alone. Remind her that I’m here….

Her grip tightens on the notebook.

She rereads the words, once, twice. Three times, even

She always knew you cared. In a grumbling, teasing way, acting like she was the most annoying person in the world. But this? You had written this down. As if it was important. As if you wanted to remember, just in case. As if she mattered.

The door creaks open.

“Alright, I got the—”

Your words cut off when you see her holding the notebook. You freeze mid-step.

Liz is holding the notebook. Jiwon is reading the notebook.

Ah fuck.

She looks up at you; notebook still clutched in her hands. You stand there, the file folder limp in your grip.

Then, slowly, a mischievous glint appears in her eyes.

“You mother f—”

Before you can even lunge for it, Jiwon hugs the notebook to her chest, scrambling to her feet. Her breath comes out in an excited rush.

“Oh my god,” she breathes, eyes sparkling. “You do care about me!”

You feel actual panic set in. “PUT THAT DOWN. KIM JIWON.”

She takes a step back, holding it tighter. “No way! This is adorable! You—You actually wrote down how to take care of me?!”

“I— It’s not what it looks like—”

“Ohhh, let’s see what else—” She flips back to the earlier pages, reading aloud dramatically. “‘If she’s nervous, let her hold onto my sleeve instead.’”

Your ears burn as your hand subconsciously rolled up your sleeves in embarrassment.

“Oooohh, you’re wearing long sleeve today as well, huh?!” Jiwon gasps, looking up at you with exaggerated shock. “You let me do that? Willingly?!”

“GIVE. IT. BACK.”

She twirls away, flipping through more pages. “Wait, wait— ‘If she looks too smug, she probably stole my drink.’” She gasps in fake offense. “So that’s why you glare at me whenever I take a sip.”

You groan, dragging a hand down your face. “Jiwon—”

She keeps going, eyes darting across the pages. But then—

She reaches the last note again. Her laughter fades. She rereads the words, her fingers brushing lightly over the ink. Then, slowly, she lifts her head. The teasing glint in her eyes is gone. Instead, there’s sincere.

“…You really meant this?”

“U-um…I—”

Her gaze lingers on you for a moment. Then, before you can react, she lunges at you again, but this time, she hugs you.

You stiffen immediately.

“…Ya.”

She squeezes you tighter.

“Shhh,” she mumbles into your shoulder. “Just let me hug you, you tsundere.”

You stand there, unmoving, ears burning. Your hands hover awkwardly before, finally, you sigh and pat her back.

“…You’re so annoying.”

She giggles against your shoulder. “I know.”

After a moment, she pulls back, grinning. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

You roll your eyes, snatching the notebook from her hands before she can react. “Yeah, yeah. Just don’t expect me to serialise this and give it to your members.”

She beams. “That sounds fun actually.”