The Moth and the Flame

“Ms Lee, what pushes you to— uogh– go to the pub all of a sudden?” You sat in the passenger seat beside her as she drove. You’re tipsy and nervous at the same time, and the alcohol starts to hit you. You clenched the seatbelt hard since your vision started to twirl like you’re on a roller coaster ride.

“I heard that there’s a company get-together, so I want to boost everyone’s confidence with my presence.” She told you. “Why did no one invite me? I’m the boss, in fact, I should know it first, right?” She added that she absolutely had no idea how it works.

“Y-you don’t have to.” You can’t tell her that her presence makes them terrified instead. “They’re probably too shy to invite you to a small pub.” You thought of a reason why she won’t get offended.

“If I didn’t come, how do you plan to bring Ms. Baek home?” She tapped her fingers on the steering wheel while she drove, “I did a good job, right?” She glanced at you briefly, lips curled into a satisfied smile. 

“Yeah, right.” You found yourself staring at her longer than intended, liking this side of her that’s also new to you. She’s really full of surprises.

“If I’m an ice cream, I’d already melt with that stare of yours.” She caught you staring without taking her eyes off the road. 

“Sorry, Ms Lee.” You cleared your throat and sat straight, regaining control all over your tipsy body.

“Come to think of it…” She paused for a second, and you were all ears on what she was about to say, “You can call me Jieun instead if we’re out of work.” She added that her suggestion is kind of absurd, levels beyond reality.

“H-huh? No, no way, I won’t dare to call you by your first name, Ms Lee.” You shook it off instantly. You can’t just call your boss without formality; it’s like calling someone to kill you on the spot, you shouldn’t step out of that boundary.

“Just do it, we’ve been together for five years, treat me as a friend for now since I’ll be your wife–”

“Lee Jieun!” You had to cut her off, gesturing at the back seat, telling her that Jiheon was still there.

“I said call me by my first name… NOT YELL AT ME!” She shouts back, louder than yours. She doesn’t care about whoever's with us.

“S-sorry… Jieun.” You apologized and said her name quietly.

“That’s it.” The car stopped, and the red glow of the traffic light shone on her face. Pretty and elegant, she’s still wearing the clothes from earlier, enough to tell you that she came to the pub from work.

“W-what do you mean?” The beer was still fogging your mind, partly no idea what she meant by her words.

“You just called me Jieun. I like it.” She’s happy, smiling ear to ear, looking at you.

“Okay, Jieun.” You accept your defeat and call her by her name, no hesitation and with sincerity this time around.

“...”

“...”

Your eyes met longer than they should, longer than most of the time.

“Yah! Just tell me if Lee Jieun bosses you around– huehuwhe– I’ll kick her ass for you–” Jiheon’s kicking her feet to the back of your seat and spouting nonsense.

“Aish! Yah– yah! Eat some fabric, it tastes good.” You had to muffle her mouth with your coat to shut her up the moment she mentioned your boss's name.

“...”

Jieun is staring blankly at her and you.

“She’s really drunk! That’s it, she didn't know what she was saying.” You panicked.

You and Jiheon had been hanging out often after work, ranting about the exhausting things that happened every day. She knows how hard Jieun is to you based on your stories, but you’re still adapting to that time, and now you’re fine with it.

“Mhhmm— hmm– Hmmgmpp– nyieun! (Jieun)” She’s speaking through her muffled mouth. If you didn’t silence her at that moment, you might not know what she would say now that the spirit of alcohol took over her body.

“Did she just call me by my name? I let it pass once, not twice! That girl— wow.” Jieun scoffed; she’s angry. That’s the reaction you’ve been expecting when you call her by her first name earlier.

“Let it pass again; she’s just drunk.” You try to calm her.

“The only one who can call me like that is you—” 

“Green light.” As you thought of a way to calm her, the red glow turned green.

“Tch.” She had no choice but to drive. She's a well-behaved citizen after all.

Upon seeing her childish side, you thought that calling her by her name was fine. She permitted you to do it, so there’s no complaining about it. Who knows? Maybe you’ll enjoy it in the near future.

She drove Jiheon into her home; apparently, she had already asked her brother, the vice president, to give her Jiheon’s data before we set off.

“Ughhh!” You had a hard time bringing Jiheon up to her apartment. There’s an elevator, but it's still a long walk since her unit’s at the very far end, what an inconvenience.

“Just drag her by her collar, hand, or hair? Anywhere.” Jieun is walking slowly with her arms crossed, clearly has no intention of helping at all.

“Hair? Seriously? And besides, I don't want to do that. I’ll look like I’m dragging a dead body at that point.” You’ll look like a murderer dragging a ragdoll across the hallway.

“Your choice.” She sighed; you could notice her boredom.

After a few more walks, you're finally in front of her apartment unit. It’s locked, of course, but the key’s with you since it happened to be a smart lock.

“Jiheon-ah…” You momentarily dropped her on the cold flooring since your arms were already numb and sore carrying her ever since she’s wasted.

“You two must be really close, calling her Jiheon and not Ms Baek— hey! Then why did you refuse to call me Jieun!?” Your boss poked you with the tip of her heel.

“It’s not like that, okay? You’re my boss, and she’s a secretary just like me; we’re in the same field, so it makes perfect sense we’re close.” You playfully slapped her toes, and she stepped back.

“Fine, whatever. Hurry up.” Her patience isn’t good either.

“Jiheon-ah… let me– ughh– God, she’s really heavy.” You used all the energy left in you to help her stand up.

“Let me borrow your thumb for a minute.” You gently asked for her permission to use her fingerprint on her door lock. Jieun watched you carefully; you could feel her eyes behind you, observing.

“Hmwuehe–” She giggled and spoke, but inaudibly. Good thing to know she’s still responsive and playful.

“What?” You tried to decipher her message, only to be laughed at by Jieun; her laugh was strangely irritating.

“Stop laughing like a villain.” You said to her while asking Jiheon for permission.

“Your coat.” Jieun still had her arms crossed, still looking around to ease her boredom, and kept laughing at the scene.

“Oh, right.” You forgot you muffled her mouth to prevent her from spilling tea about everything you said about Jieun.