She was thinking about what might be in the box when she was interrupted by the first person coming into her office. Nayeon came in and started pulling out chairs. Yeji came in next, setting down one cup of tea, and one cup of coffee. She winked at Seulgi as she nudged the tea forward, then went to assist Nayeon with the chairs. Again, these two were so diametrically opposed. Nayeon came in a colorful dress that was all bright colors that held a vibrancy that was nearly blinding. Yeji was in a pantsuit that was more subdued. Bcks, charcoals, and light greys. It was built more around professionalism and practicality than making a screaming statement like Nayeon.

  With as different as they could possibly be, they were the prime example of Opposites Attract. They got along together better than with anyone else – with the exception of Seulgi, of course. Seulgi was everyone’s best friend.

  Next came the Twins, who were Bright and Chipper incarnate, though they were more subdued than usual. These two were more inclined to lean towards Nayeon in temper and style. It’s a good thing that they were both so adorable that nobody seemed to mind too much. Min-Jeon and Yeo-Jin were chatting like a pair of mockingbirds.

  Bhuwakul came in as well. He deposited a cup of steaming tea as well. They smiled together at the absurdity. (absurdi-tea?) He came in as to reflect all of those about him. Tans, creams, and khaki were his color palette. Things that allowed him to blend into the background of wherever he was and went. He was that non-descript nobody that hardly anyone paid attention to and immediately faded into the background and out of everybody's memory until he forced his presence on them to be noticed. When he flexed his presence, nobody could ignore him. Not even Seulgi.

  Even Taeyeon poked her nose in the door, checking on them. Taeyeon was more subtle today in bck scks and a white blouse. She nodded satisfied and wandered off to stir up who knows what sort of mischief. This baffled Seulgi for about five seconds before she shrugged, remembering how much stuff she had to take care of, and no longer cared what Taeyeon was up to.

  She started her meeting in the same way as always, “It’s good to see everyone here today.” However, today felt different. It fell ft as there were unconscious overtones.

  “Looked like things have been moving along for my brief absence. Thank you for carrying on.” She made sure to look everyone in the eye as she was saying this. “Now, I am back. And it’s time to get back to business as usual.” General Patton would have been proud.

  She felt her heart lurch when Jackson was not there to take up the reins of the meetings from here. That task fell to Nayeon, who despite her silly persona was still eminently qualified to take over. She threw a thousand-watt smile at the room and began her side duties.

  Nayeon was like a conductor of a finely skill orchestra. She led the people through presenting what had been accomplished, what still needed to be done, and if there were any issues that needed to be addressed. Or, if anyone needed assistance in their duties.

  It was all very steady, normal, and usual. Despite there being absolutely nothing usual about their collective situation.

  After everyone had summed up what was going on, the Big Boss’s personal assistant poked her nose in the door. “Hey Seulgi, the boss wants to see you sometime this morning.” After receiving an acknowledgment, she flounced off to her next task.

  They continued their meeting as if nothing happened. It was not unusual for people to poke in, address something that needed to be taken care of, drop something off, or just say “Good morning.”

  Once back on track, Seulgi opened the floor for anything that had not already been addressed. There were a few things that needed crification. What Nayeon could not handle or did not know, Seulgi could and did.

  Since some people either did not get the earlier message or did not believe that the message of Keep Your Hands to Yourself applied to them, someone had their hand fully broken by Yeo-Jin. The issue had already been addressed and resolved. There was a note put in her personnel file that it is not acceptable to break coworker’s hands, even if they deserve it. Of course, it was phrased in legalese, but that was essentially what it meant. The person who grabbed her was sent to the hospital to get her hand set along with a notice of dismissal.

  Yeo-Jin looked sheepishly at Seulgi expecting to be reprimanded. All she got was a statement: “Don’t make a habit of this. Bring it to their manager or myself and we’ll take care of it. If only to keep you out of any legal problems. Got it?” And that was the end of it. Yeo-Jin was slightly surprised by this, but no one else was.

  After confirming that there was nothing else to be presented, she handed out assignments. Everyone bobbed a small bow to her as they accepted their packets. Even Nayeon bobbed a cheeky grin with her bow. Seulgi had a sudden urge to smack her impudence. However, it was so common that she was able to fight off the urge.

  Seulgi pinned Bhuwakul in pce with just a look. She didn’t need words to keep him there. Nayeon and Yeji both looked a question if they needed to stay, too. With a small hand gesture, she waved them off with a thanks. It was wonderful to be able to talk without words. She could get messages across without letting others in on the Things Going On.

  Under the guise of why he stayed behind, Bhuwakul started putting the chairs away. It was good that while they were modestly comfortable, they were still foldable and easy to colpse and put away.

  Seulgi poked her nose out the door of her office to make sure that there would be no immediate interruptions. Once she nodded and waved at a few people, she closed the door.

  She went back to her desk while nodding at one of the chairs for Bhuwakul to sit in while waiting for an expnation.

  Seulgi pulled out a small bck phone. Bhuwakul noticed that this was not her normal phone. He had never seen it before, and he knew more about her than her family did. The only reason why he was not considered a stalker himself is because she knew about him and accepted his presence. Lately, she welcomed his presence.

  While he made himself comfortable, she took a sip of one of her many teas and dialed a number. There was an audible click with a grumbled greeting.

  She grabbed her backpack and said “Detective? I have a box.”