I was just ordering my daily dose of salted caramel frappe with two shots of coffee, no whip cream twice blended when I received a phone call from my boss about a possible job relocation. Literally, it felt like a sudden gush of blood went straight out of my head. Relocation? What does he mean by relocation? Am I not performing well? How can I possibly relocate when I was just barely getting through the day with my salary? These are the questions that stumbled when I was rushing my way to the office.
I can t just leave my family, how about Boris? Poor baby doesn t even have a pet passport. Oh, God! concentrate Ella, I m sure it s just nothing. As I arrived at the office I placed my cup of coffee in my room, hurriedly removed my coat and fixed my hair, freshen up, and touched up some powder.
My hands were freezing as I knocked on my boss s door. I immediately bombarded Nathan with unending questions. "Am I not good?", "Am I not efficient?" "Are you replacing me as an Executive Assistant?" The room was filled with questions that lingered in my mind while I was pacing back and forth intensely. Nathan grabbed my wrist and directed me to the empty white chair just right around the corner.
"Ella, will you please relax?" he said. "I am not replacing you, in fact, you were chosen to be relocated for a reason." Nathan added.
As per the management, they saw your hard work and determination in helping the company. The ideas that you pitched in the last meeting were an eye-opener to the board and they want you to facilitate the project. I know you ll love this project and I know you ll love the location they chose.
As I left Nathan s office I still can t believe that they are relocating me to South Korea, and not just any relocation, an all-expense-paid relocation. My heart was pounding as I went back to my room. The flight s going to be next week and I have to train Alisse to be my counterpart. Wait, I still have to list all the things I need to do. Ugh! So many tasks yet too little time.
I drank my half-cold coffee and instructed Alisse via the intercom to meet me for the instructions. As I was about to go down, my phone beeped to notification of my favorite k-pop band.
No this can t be! the ticket was already out a few minutes ago? Shit. I fired up my laptop to order the ticket for their three-day concert in Thailand. I need to be able to secure this VIP slot in front of them.
When I mentioned I just barely get through the day with my salary, I meant I m always saving up for concerts and merch of my favorite k-pop band. I make sure that I ll be able to secure tickets near the stage and I make sure to secure all days. I also make sure to buy all merch the band releases.
Hah! Now, all I have to do is file my vacation leave. I ll just do that later, I need to orient Alisse first. I hurriedly went downstairs and met Alisse. I gave her the list of the things she needs to do from morning 'till Nathan goes home. I also informed her of the schedule that she needs to follow, and yes, as the Executive Assistant of the CEO my schedule is pretty tight. It consists of me waking up around six o clock in the morning, jogging for an hour, and dropping by at my favorite coffee shop which is owned by my best friend before starting my work.
Basically, when I m at the office, I spend most of the time in and out of Nathan s office bringing him tons of papers for him to sign and answering calls for him. I also prepare his day-to-day schedule. I talk to each of the committee heads and orient them on what to do.
And after work? I lay on my couch with my lovable baby dog named Boris in my Korean face mask while drinking a hot cup of strawberry tea. Along with that, I m just literally scrolling through my Twitter following what had happened to the day of my favorite band. Of course, I m not using my personal Twitter, I have my stan account. I follow the #1 K-pop band in South Korea, Cosmic Blue. I ve been a Cosmiq
Fanclub name of Cosmic Blue
since their debut on July 13, 2013, I ve been to all of their concerts, fan events, and fan signs. I ve been an official member of Cosmiq for as long as I can remember, I also have all their merch, especially Sai who was my ultimate bias.
I equally support them but we all have that main favorite who made me decide to follow the group. I even had Sai s name tattooed on my wrist as a pledge of my unending support for them.
Some of my office mates think it s crazy that I wholeheartedly support the group. I even conduct cup sleeve events and donate money under their name. Well, if you ve been following them, as a cosmiq you will know the hardships they had when they were just starting, you ll know that most of their money is being donated to charities and organizations. They ve also been selected as the Ambassador of the United Nations Youth Campaign.
Imagine, seven young men, being the face of their country, supporting anti-violence and promoting self-love, who wouldn t want to support them? Even artists support and follow them. They are not just any K-pop band, they are an icon to the youth. And all I can say is I am proud to be a part of their fanbase.
I was about to doze off to sleep when my mom called and asked me about the relocation. It was somehow hard explaining to my mom that I had to move, after Laura died, she had been overly protective of me. And right now, she had second thoughts of my relocation simply because she knew she wouldn t be able to accompany me and see me for quite some time.
It s six o clock in the morning, I was supposed to go jogging with Boris at the park, however, it was raining so hard. My typical shift starts at nine in the morning, I still have time to have a quick nap due to the weather. Finally, it was eight o clock, I prepared my food followed by Boris as I took my shower I was listening to the podcast Korean 101. I m still in awe that I was the one selected for this project. I have to make sure that this project will be successful, this will be a ground for promotion.
I dropped off Boris at the canine school and stopped by the coffee shop, Andrea was there bickering with one of her baristas. "Are you okay?" I asked her. You can see the redness of her face annoyingly. Andrea went to the counter and prepared my usual drink. I can see that she was very frustrated with what happened. I know I still have time to catch up with her before going to work so I asked her to sit down and speak.
I was flustered when I heard that Jeremy was having an affair with her barista. Imagine being in that situation. No wonder I am single, I can t imagine myself being hurt. It s better to die being a fangirl, or so to say.
It s fifteen minutes before nine I can already see Alisse doing some of my work. Thank God she s there to fill up the space when I m gone 'cause honestly, I couldn t imagine Nathan not having a secretary.
Nathan paged me to his office for a sudden meeting, I fixed my skirt and immediately went to the board room where I could see tons of people including the panel waiting for me. Nathan introduced me to a couple of people wearing executive clothes advising them that I will be the one joining them in pioneering the project in Seoul.
I shook hands with each of the board members and panelists as I presented my project once more and informed them of my plans on achieving it. I also provided them the time frame of which the project will be fully operational, "About a year or two." I said. The panel was impressed by the way I carried the project, they all congratulated me.
"All thanks to my boss, if not for him, I wouldn t be in this position presenting to you people." Indeed it was true, I was all Nathan s idea, I just put it to writing and model. All my thanks go to him for nurturing me and for trusting that I can carry out the plan successfully. In two weeks I ll be in Korea, I promised the team not to fail them and most of all I promised Nathan that I will bring home the contract and license to operate our record label in Korea.