𝑅𝑂𝐴𝑅𝐼𝑁𝐺 ╱ 𝐉𝐎𝐘

Charlize smiled at their appreciation. At least someone was getting recognition. "I'm just typically better dressed than at least three people on these lists," she says matter-of-factly. "But I suppose I'm not who's going to sell the latest Givenchy."

"i don't doubt that. i bet without a stylist too." their words are honest, moving back a little on their heels, so they can look at her better. "maybe... though you can always change that if you want to. might involve a career change as well but... i have some phone numbers in this line of work if you need a connection."

" but it fails to measure up to any random asmr video about candy wrappers. " feyza's grin played softly on her face. maybe this was what inner peace was: she was in no hurry, the things she needed to accomplish that day could wait for tomorrow, and she wasn't worrying about the future. " if it was in surrey or something and we organized a private bus every day. " she was already getting inspired ! " wait, wait, wait ! hold up. what if next summer we offer people the opportunity to work at some nice old house instead of the office ? much of our work gets done on microsoft teams anyways... " she wanted to look like a cool boss with cool ideas ! " this company is a family and what not. what's more family-like than a summer holiday ? " a small pause. " with your boss and co-workers... "

a laugh leaving their lips, they rest their head on back of the bean bag, stretching their arms above their head. "oh, that's so true. i also like the soap-cutting ones. those are always creative." bringing their arms back down to their sides, they lean to the side to listen to feyza better, lips pursing, trying to keep themself from snorting back into laughter. "a summer holiday... with your boss and co-workers." they repeat, meeting her eyes, in a long hard stare, before they begin to laugh again. "oh we should definitely bring that up to hr and watch them try to explain it to us why it might not be the best idea. and if they think it's a good one — you know you gotta get a new hr director." they could already see the headlines, 'app-h forces their workers in a retreat'. "i think, what we could do is take time off, and actually go on a vacation. not that i don't do it often enough, but you can never have too much of a good thing. and i know you guys are rubbish at that."

Aimlessly scrolling through her phone, looking to see if an important contract had come through, it took her a moment to realize the person in front of her was trying to ask something. "Oh, erm... yes and no. It really depends on what you're getting from them. I'd recommend avoiding anything with flowers on top. They're really just decorative." Normally, she'd had an assistant pick up her order but something about the unseasonably sunny weather had her grateful to be outside.

eyebrows shoot up near their hairline, not really expecting that much effort in plating for a food truck. "edible flowers? that's impressive for a ... van." where did they even keep it? how many people were working in there? maybe it is less of a fad, and more of the real deal, which excites hajoon slightly. "i see, what would be your recommendation, then? i take it this is not your first rodeo?" to know the queue could have had real visitors instead played in its favor. maybe it would be an apt lunch for the day.

“photograpp-h trends and good aren’t always mutually exclusive,” santiago retorts with the minutest roll of his eyes, yet again magnifying a digital map to make sure he’s in the right place. queues–the modern menagerie, whether one was working the stall or standing to the point of developing entirely new muscles in the pinky toe. when said eyes recover from his endless scrolling, scrabbling together the image of a friend he feels he last saw against the backdrop of a hotel or beach or beach hotel, he puts the phone away. “hello, there. i’ve a flaming hot date with a billboard lease to consummate, but i’ll buy you breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you stop badmouthing us." he laughs at his own joke. someone near the front of the line laughs as he steps on an ostentatiously used napkin. "why are you here, anyways? another twelve-hour layover to kill, is it?”

hajoon decides to go with a long, dramatic look, a tilt of their head forward, blinking and staring at him through their lashes. "i think most of them are 'five-minutes-crafts' enough for me to make a generalization. or those inedible smoothies where you have four doughnuts on top and it's not even a drink anymore." there is no malice in their tone, mostly teasing. he believes they have been friends long enough for santiago not to get offended by it — the app was all of their baby at one point after all. "it's not our fault, moreso the user profile, let's say." see, an attempt at not reading the content to filth, though either way, it is good that there are no journalists present. a snort at the offer, they are happy to agree. "sure, but you know i'm expensive, right? first stop might be a food truck, but you don't know where i will pick next." it is mostly a joke, it's not like hajoon can't pay for themself, the reality is that their tastes do end up on the more expensive side, especially with restaurants in london. another grin, they shrug. "i just decided to stay a few weeks here to catch up with my friends. wouldn't you believe me?"

arnold's shoulders tense at the voice. he had not wanted anyone to witness him in the queue. for a moment he considered ignoring the question: it would have been easy to pretend he had not heard the question or realized he had been addressed. reluctantly, and with a tense jaw, he turned to the person behind him. " absolutely not. " thank god the person was a stranger. the friendly tone had made him think it was someone who actually knew him ! " i'd put my money on 'trend'. anything that needs to look this grand and nice, cannot taste that good. in general i prefer simpler flavours. all of the desserts look like a child named every sweet treat and told the chef to combine them. "

they ponder on the reply given, and then nod their head in agreement. "that's true. marketing sells better than the product in many cases, even if it's not sustainable in the long run." hence, the plethora of short-winded social media trends that popped up on their feeds one day, and disappeared a few days later. at least on their apps, it is usually the origin of the trend, and then it trickles down to less popular apps later on. "then, that begs me to ask..." a grin on hajoon's face, a tease of good nature to this complete stranger. "what brings you to wait at this queue? if you think it's just a trend."

" i seriously thought these bean bags were just to make us look hip and cool but these are actually pretty comfortable. i could fall asleep like immediately. " she closed her eyes slowly and listened to the clicking of keyboards and ringing of phones in the open office space. " do you know why i hate tall buildings ? the windows. they can't be opened and there's no breeze. we should have bought some massive manor house on the country side and set up shop there. it would have been a vibe. " ( &. @dionistic )

they completely lounge on the bean bags, basically horizontal, ankles crossed over one another, eyes shut with hands clasped on top of their chest. "told you this is a great napping space. the background noise is also top-notch. would rival ocean sounds for me." the clicking of the keyboards, the voices of employees talking in meetings, words impossible to discern. at her comment, they turn their head towards her way, squinting. "well, you know i wouldn't say no to that. though the employees would probably kill us over the long commuting hours. they'd prob have some right too." a pause, before they come up with a new idea. "unless... we make it so that there are dorms as well. now that would be interesting. still would make them hate us, but more interesting."

She knows they're right; who cares about the Halston C-suite other than investors? But she's still annoyed. Everyone, she thinks, should be appreciating the looks she serves. "I love the embroidery here," she adds, handing them over the magazine.

eyebrows rise up and down, a grin on their face as they lean forward to see their picture. "that's neat. they got a nice one too." one of them on the red carpet, making a peace sign. cliché, yet still a classic. "why thank you- it was embroidered by hand. they asked it back for an exhibition after." and as much as hajoon would enjoy to have it in their collection, art was meant to be shown. "so... do you or someone you know want to show up in magazines or was it just a comment in general for behind the scenes people?"

          he remembers the time they speak about like it was just yesterday.  nostalgia crawls its way into his chest and aches between his ribs.  things used to be easier  —  simpler.  sure he was losing his fucking mind at a dead end retail job while attempting to corral randomly assigned group members to create a mediocre project for a grade that never really mattered,  but at least he was having fun.  when was the last time that happened?           yuki eats silently,  ravenously,  and continues to pick at the bits remaining at the bottom of the takeout container with his chopsticks once he's done.  if he wanted someone to manage his meetings,  he'd have an assistant.  really,  he should have one,  but with each passing day he feels app-h slip further out of his hands,  and an administrative assistant would only accelerate the process.     "french riviera,"  he echoes,  thinking.  he's never been,  but he also has never cared for yachting or the vast waters anyway.  he sets the container,  now devoid of food,  on the coffee table as his phone beeps with yet another notification.  with an exaggerated sigh,  he digs the device out of his pocket and swipes through notification after notification.  text messages and meeting invitations and reminders and emails and distraction after distraction.             the thing is,  he could very easily take a couple days off.  hell,  he could take a month off if he really wanted to.  app-h would function just fine without him  —  yuki has that much trust in his co-workers.  but that's the hard pill to swallow,  the fact that he can leave and things would continue chugging along as they have been.  imposter's syndrome is new and uncomfortable so yuki does what he's good at and buries it so far back in his brain that he can't even string that thought together.  maybe he's completely lost it or maybe the hopeful tone in hajoon's voice is pulling at his heart strings,  because yuki hands his unlocked phone over to them.  rarely does his phone ever leave his side and never does he let someone else go through it.     "if you can find time on my calendar,  we can go to the moon for all i care."     at this point,  even staying home is vacation enough.     "cancel whatever.  you just have to promise you're coming with me."

they are probably too interested in watching yuki's thought process about a trip together than eating from the container in their hands. it's not that hajoon is particularly hungry either, they had a full, proper, lunch, though they dig in for another piece of fried chicken to keep him company. a hum, leaving their mouth at the words, they are quick to shrug. "or anywhere else — maldives, bali, the caribbean..." an open offer really, anything to get yuki out of this prison that he has locked himself in. as they continue to watch him eat and think about the offer ( there is no outright rejection yet, which is more than hajoon expected. hope continues to rise in their chest ) — they grab one of the containers still full and hold it out. "spring rolls. c'mon." it reminds them of how they used to share so much takeout food back in the day. usually getting one type each and then splitting it. spring rolls, and how many each would get used to be a topic of conversation. now, all hajoon wants is to make sure yuki eats, no qualms about his share. a few seconds later, a phone is held towards them, and they look at yuki as if he has grown another head. their own hand, slowly reaching out to grab it, eyes widening when the words set in. "wait — wait-— really?" it takes a few seconds of realization before their face splits into a wide smile, beaming at the answer. "hell yeah, kiki!" a nickname they usually used to tease, meant genuinely now. hajoon doesn't let him grab the phone back and leans into the other end of the couch as they look through yuki's meetings. "now that's just criminal-" a couple of taps on the phone, deleting the meeting whoever dared to set on a saturday. they continue to look through them, trying to make the most out of a long weekend. "okay, let's say... from now, you are off until next wednesday. there we go." it doesn't take long to cancel some meetings, and some of them consist of reminders yuki has set up for himself. hajoon is careful with the cancellations, knowing the names of major shareholders enough not to upset that group of people. when they are done, they lock the phone, but don't give it back. "do i have your permission not to let you around anything that can connect to the internet?" an eyebrow raised, still too gleeful about the positive answer. "no notifications, no alarms."

          he sinks into the couch,  exhaustion threatening to overtake him as he becomes comfortable.  yuki is running on the raw strength of two power naps,  several red bulls, and a reserve of energy he barely conjured up for this.  while he typically doesn't find it very difficult to feel enthusiastic when he's with friends,  he has to force it a bit now.  not hajoon's fault at all — it's him,  him and his head.           "gross,  chew before you speak,"     he says jokingly,  mouth half full.  dreaded question.  yuki takes his time with a few bites,  stalling.     "not really.  meetings.  emails.  meetings that could have been emails and convoluted email threads that should have been meetings.  trying to figure out milestones for the next quarter."     unsaid:  staring up at the broken ceiling light in his office as he tries to fall asleep on the pull-out couch,  sending phone calls from his parents to voicemail,  chugging coffee after energy drink after coffee.     "the usual."     he shrugs,  the picture of casual as he slouches over and tries to eat without spilling food.  yuki reaches for some of the paperwork with one hand,  squinting at the small font as he scans over it,  anything's better than making eye contact that'll surely betray him.     "do you have anything planned for the summer?  bali again?"     yuki can't remember the last time he went on a proper vacation.  visits back home rarely count,  not when it's as stressful seeing his parents as it is running a company,  and he's already been explicitly told that meetings and conferences in different countries don't count as time off.  he supposes there was his honeymoon,  though it was cut short by virtue of an app-h emergency. he admires the boundaries hajoon keeps, the lines they contain work in. there was a time he'd ask them to reconsider a c-suite position, though that has long passed.

crossing their legs underneath themself, hajoon leans against the back of the couch, shifting so that they are facing yuki as they eat. a teasing groan leaves their ( still not empty ) mouth and they speak once they have swallowed their bite down. "i would like to remind you how we used to eat ramen from a pot on your floor — and that one time we cracked the egg over the floor instead of the pot." and hajoon was half sure the five-second rule could apply. a grimace shifts over their expression at the string of terrible tasks they despise with every inch of their being. in hajoon's brief dip into corporate life, all of those things used to be the bane of their existence — and the reason they never wanted any more responsibility after that. "i know that was a meme, but we should really code a meeting disclaimer, where the cost of meeting shows up proportional to how much an hour of the attendees' times cost. then- people won't be so trigger-happy with them." technically, it would be a breach of gdpr or whatever, but, at the end of the day, they had good lawyers. "or you can just ask me to cancel them, so you won't have that on your conscience." another attempt at a joke, anything to mask how they are getting more and more worried at these answers. 'the usual' from yuki, spells nothing good to hajoon, neither is the way he is making no eye contact. a plethora of questions and offerings for help cross their mind, and they try to pick the best one when the question comes. "i'm not sure yet — i heard french riviera is really nice this time of the year." they let the words linger, digging into the container with the chopsticks, but not grabbing any. "is there still no way you could take a couple of days off?" something more hopeful in hajoon's voice, despite how they can assume a negative answer. "we could go somewhere else you'd like to go as well. just for a weekend getaway. forget the carbon emissions, we'll fly commercial."

for all that he is attached to his devices,  he's been all too distant from his phone the past few days.  most messages that had little to do with work went ignored,  only the ones from the founders receiving an absently typed answer now and then.  it's hajoon's request which gets an instant affirmative response,  the one that gets him to power off his computer and lock his office door behind him.  in the past weeks, yuki's seen the inside of hajoon's penthouse more than he's seen his own  (  not a terribly difficult achievement when he spends nights in his office and not the place he owns  —  in a way,  app-h is a home for him,  just not in an entirely healthy way  ).  he doesn't realize how hungry he is until he steps in,  the scent of food hasting his greeting.    "hey.  is that for us?"     yuki manages a half-hearted grin as he pats hajoon's shoulder and makes his way to the counter,  grabbing one of the containers without waiting for an answer.     "why're you worried about paperwork on a friday night?"     not that he isn't going to help — of course he will.

it's almost like a reflex for them to do a quick check to see how yuki has been faring. if there are any dark circles under his eyes, and whether he has been burning the midnight oil for way too many nights as he tends to do. after they close the door behind him, they try to pick up on these small signs to figure out the severity of the situation. despite these intentions, there is a particular attempt to not to let any of it show as they grin wide at the question. "of course it's for us! who am i, the late bulletin corp ceo, making you slave away on an empty stomach?" hajoon picks up the rest of the containers, and two pairs of chopsticks before they both head to the main living area. pushing most of the paperwork away, they set the containers in the middle, and begin opening up the lids. there are a couple of side dishes that are meant for them to share, and they hold out a pair of chopsticks to yuki. "these have been waiting for a few weeks and- apparently i need to fill them out soon. my account manager keeps haunting me about what to do with those shares we bought years ago. but — we can figure it out later. let's eat first." they begin to dig in, and then speak through a half-mouthful of food. "what've you been up to? anythin' exciting?"

Charlize stopped by the newstand, as was her tradition after any big name event, to check out the public's reactions to what was going on and (of course) who made the best dressed list. Sliding over some cash to the man tending it, she began to flip through the pages, her brow furrowed as she saw glossy images of stars with splashy circles of "HOT!" and "NOT!". "Y'know," she said, "it wouldn't kill them to put one of the behind-the-scenes folks on a Best Dressed list. Aside from the families, I mean."

from the cover of the magazine in question, it's easy to figure out which event it was. and because hajoon was also there, they can't help themself from peaking over her shoulder. "am i on it too? they put me in one of those, but i forgot which magazine." of course, the suit they wore was designer, black with embroidered gold, tailor-made from dior. the comment does come as a surprise, though they mull over it nonetheless. "i suppose it sells easier this way? if you're gonna put someone from behind the scenes, you'd have to twist it with a story to make it interesting, and that's usually too much effort when you can pick someone already famous."