CHAPTER Four :The First Change
617 Words
Michelle stood outside Seo Ji-hwan's office and took a deep breath.
"Act normal."
She straightened her clothes and knocked.
"Come in."
She opened the door.
Ji-hwan sat behind his desk, reading through a document.
Michelle looked at him for a moment.
So this was Seo Ji-hwan.
The man she'd spent hours reading about.
She quickly looked away.
Remember, she told herself.
He's your boss.
Nothing more.
"You're late."
Michelle froze.
Three minutes.
She remembered this part.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Seo."
Ji-hwan glanced at the clock.
"Three minutes."
Michelle waited for the cold response she remembered from the novel.
Instead, he simply said,
"Don't make it a habit."
She blinked.
"Yes, sir."
That was it?
She had expected him to be much worse.
Maybe the book had exaggerated his personality.
Or maybe she was remembering it wrong.
Ji-hwan pushed a folder toward her.
"Take these to the conference room. They're needed for the afternoon meeting."
Michelle picked it up.
"Of course."
She turned toward the door.
Then stopped.
The document.
She remembered it clearly.
There was an important document that was supposed to be inside this folder.
Michelle opened it and quickly checked the papers.
Nothing.
She checked again.
Still nothing.
Her eyebrows pulled together.
"Looking for something?"
Michelle looked up.
Ji-hwan was watching her.
"Nothing."
She smiled awkwardly.
"I was just checking that everything was there."
"Isn't that your job?"
Michelle paused.
"...Yes."
She nodded quickly.
"Exactly."
She closed the folder.
"I'll take it to the conference room."
She turned around.
One step.
Two steps.
Her shoe caught the edge of the carpet.
The folder slipped from her hands.
"Oh!"
Papers scattered across the floor.
Michelle reached for them.
Her balance shifted.
"Wait—"
She stumbled backward.
Before she could fall, a hand caught her arm.
Michelle looked up.
Ji-hwan.
For a second, she simply stared at him.
He steadied her, then immediately released her.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
Michelle quickly straightened.
"I'm completely fine."
Ji-hwan looked at the papers scattered around them.
"Clearly."
Michelle wanted the floor to swallow her.
She crouched down and began gathering the papers.
"I'm sorry."
"Just be careful."
"Yes, sir."
Ji-hwan picked up one of the papers and handed it to her.
"Here."
"Thank you."
Michelle took it and quickly looked away.
This was embarrassing.
She had been trying so hard to act like she knew exactly what she was doing.
Now she had nearly fallen in front of her boss.
She collected the last paper.
Then she noticed something underneath the desk.
A document.
Michelle froze.
She picked it up.
Her eyes widened.
This was it.
The missing document.
The one she remembered from the novel.
But it wasn't supposed to be here.
Not like this.
Michelle placed it inside the folder.
She looked at Ji-hwan.
He was already back at his desk, completely unaware of what was going through her mind.
"Mr. Seo?"
He looked up.
"I found this."
"Put it in the folder."
"Okay."
She nodded.
Then she left the office.
The doors closed behind her.
Michelle stood in the hallway and stared at the folder.
The missing document.
The fall.
Ji-hwan catching her.
None of it had happened this way in the novel.
She slowly whispered,
"That wasn't in the book."
Her smile disappeared.
Maybe she hadn't just entered the story.
Maybe she had already started changing it.
Michelle tightened her grip on the folder.
"I still know the ending."
At least...
she hoped she did.
Because if the small things could change this easily, she didn't want to imagine what would happen when the important parts of the story began.
And somewhere beyond the pages she remembered, the story was already becoming something new.
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