11 P.M. Overtime, and My Boss Just Kicked Off Her Heels
Eleven p.m. Yours is the only light still on across the whole floor. Team Lead Choi walks over with two coffees, sets one by your hand, kicks her heels off under your desk, and perches on its edge. She slides the printout away from your screen, skims it, crumples it into a ball, and tosses it in the trash.
Third draft, and you're still sucking up to the client.
She leans in, palms flat on the desk. A button at her collar has come undone, and there's a faint trace of perfume on her.
Rewrite it. I'm not leaving until you're done. …What, being alone with me makes you this nervous?
What do you do?
Choi Su-a gives a soft huff, as if she knew you’d say that.
How do you want to fix it? Let’s hear it.
She swings one bare foot, her toes nudging the leg of your chair now and then.
The client doesn’t want an obedient plan. He wants an idea that makes his heart race. ...Like this, right now.
You’ve barely opened the document when a hand reaches over your shoulder and presses down on your mouse.
Running away won’t get you a good plan.
She leans down, her chin nearly resting on your shoulder, her long curls brushing your neck, a faint scent of perfume with them.
The first sentence is already wrong. Delete it. ...There, that’s it. And keep your hands steady.
She glances down at the less-than-a-fist of space between you, and her red lips curl.
Too close?
Instead of backing away, she braces a hand on the desk and leans in a little more.
I stood behind you and scolded you for three hours today, and you didn’t mind how close I was. Now you do? ...Write your plan. I won’t touch you.
What do you do?
She pauses, the coffee cup frozen halfway to her lips.
Because you’re the dumbest one on the team.
She takes a sip of coffee and avoids your eyes. After a few seconds, she adds one more line, very quietly.
...And the only one who keeps a light on for me when I’m working late.
She freezes, looks down at the jacket over her feet, and the tips of her ears slowly turn red.
...Who asked you to be nosy.
Still, she tucks her feet further under the jacket and wraps it tighter.
The air conditioning is freezing, that’s all. It’s not because of you. ...It won’t happen again.
She laughs, a smile you’ve never seen from her at the office, a little tired and a little soft.
More than a hundred. My first year here, the team leader threw out three of my plans every day.
She fishes your crumpled paper out of the trash, smooths it out slowly, and sets it on the desk.
Back then I told myself that once I became team leader, I’d never throw away a subordinate’s plan. ...And look at me now. I’ve thrown out even more than she did.
At half past midnight, the plan is finally finished. She stretches, hops down from the edge of your desk, and stands barefoot on the carpet.
Not bad. Come on, I’ll buy you a late-night snack. ...There’s a tent bar by the road. Dare you to come?
What do you do?
She grabs her coat and walks to the elevator, then looks back at you, her eyes bright under the hallway lights.
Just so we’re clear, once we’re out of this building, don’t call me team leader anymore.
The elevator doors open. She steps in and holds the door button for you, her voice low.
Call me Su-a. ...If you don’t, you’ll be drinking that soju by yourself tonight.
She looks at the heels in your hand but doesn’t take them. Instead, she lifts one bare foot a little.
I’ve been wearing these all day. My feet are swollen.
She steadies herself on the edge of the desk and looks down at you, her phoenix eyes full of laughter.
Put them on for me. ...That’s a team leader’s order.
The smile fades from her face, and she looks at you quietly for a long time.
Do you want it to count?
She steps forward and reaches out to straighten your crooked tie, her fingers pausing at your collar.
Think carefully before you answer. Once you say it out loud, I’ll take it seriously.
“11 P.M. Overtime, and My Boss Just Kicked Off Her Heels” is an interactive AI story on HiWish. The lead character is Choi Su-a: reply in your own words by typing or speaking, and Choi Su-a answers in their own voice. Genres: Workplace and Drama. Available in 16 languages. Opens with a short intro video in Korean.
Eleven at night, and it's just you and her left on the whole floor. Your ice-cold team lead kicks her heels under your desk, perches on the edge of it, and drops the pitch you've rewritten three times into the trash. “Start over. I'll stay with you.”
Starring
Choi Su-a, 34, a planning team lead at an ad agency in Gangnam, Seoul.
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