A Time Attack on Day One
Fuck. Look at them laughing it up. Having a real blast, aren't they.
Park Woojin had squared off with Dohyun at the door for a moment, but in the end he'd accomplished absolutely nothing. When he finally stepped into the studio, what greeted him was Dohyun cracking up with Dayeon and Eunchae like they hadn't a care in the world.
"Boss, you said you came in early today because you had something to take care of, right? Want me to give you a hand?"
He figured he'd done a decent job managing his image with the two of them so far. Whatever damage Dohyun had managed to inflict, he could patch it back up in no time. That was the absurd calculation running through his head. Park Woojin was the kind of man who had never, not once, believed there was anything wrong with the way he carried himself — or that he'd done anything worth apologizing for.
"No. I'll handle it myself. Just get your own work done on time, Woojin. Your editing speed's been getting slower and slower lately. Keep this up and we won't be uploading videos on schedule much longer."
But contrary to everything Woojin expected, Dayeon showed not the slightest intention of opening her heart to him again. Which, of course, made perfect sense. She'd already decided to cut Woojin loose the moment Dohyun found his footing. There was no reason to waste warmth on a man she was planning to fire. Finding out that ugly things had been happening behind her back hadn't exactly improved her mood, either.
Hah, that fucking bitch. Playing hard to get now? So some other guy she actually likes walked in, is that it? And Eunchae — that girl's glued to his side too.
As the boss, Dayeon had always been good to everyone — to Eunchae, to Woojin, to the other editors. But Eunchae was a different story. She'd never been particularly close with Woojin to begin with. She'd hated his one-sided advances so much that she'd blocked him on KakaoTalk ages ago, and shut down every attempt he made at starting a conversation.
"How about we grab a coffee before we start, Eunchae? This oppa'll brew you something good."
And yet Woojin kept at it, persistently needling her.
"Ah, Dohyun! Want to go grab drinks from the cafe right out front?"
No matter how friendly he tried to sound, nothing came back. She seemed to have decided that blocking him on KakaoTalk wasn't enough — she was going to block him in person, too. She wouldn't even glance in his direction.
"Huh? Drinks? Yeah, let's do it. You want anything, noona? We'll pick it up."
"I'm good. I brought coffee. You two should just go to the cafe, have a drink, talk a bit, and take a break before you come back."
Dayeon smiled and patted them both on the back. When Eunchae had shown up all dressed up that morning, Dayeon had only vaguely wondered if maybe someone new had appeared in her life. But the current running between the two of them was impossible to miss. Something was happening there. She'd made up her mind to give them a push.
"Ah, we couldn't do that. We've got work to do. I can't slack off on my very first day."
But the hopelessly oblivious Dohyun seemed to have no idea what Dayeon was trying to do.
Well. Hang in there, Eunchae.
Finding herself cheering the girl on in her own head, Dayeon let out a long sigh.
"...Ah, then maybe I could tag along too..."
"Woojin, you still have to fix the video that got sent back on Friday, don't you? That needs to go up today."
Woojin tried to wedge himself between them, clearly unhappy about Eunchae and Dohyun getting closer, but Dayeon cut him off without missing a beat.
"Ah... can't that wait a little?"
"Why? Is there a problem? Didn't you say you'd have the revisions done over the weekend?"
There was a reason Dayeon's face darkened the moment those words left his mouth. Friday evening, before Dohyun had even started, Woojin had been spinning his wheels on one of the videos, so Dayeon had offered to push the upload schedule back.
Come on, boss. Don't you trust me? There's no need for that, so don't worry. I'll revise it over the weekend if I have to. I'll keep us on schedule.
That was what he'd said. After working together this long, she'd figured he at least had a sense of responsibility, and she'd let him handle it.
"If you needed the schedule changed, you should have said so on Friday. You told me you could do it."
"Ah... well, I... I was going to, it's just..."
Woojin had spent the entire weekend doing anything but editing. He hadn't even thought about it after clocking in. It was only when Dayeon brought it up that he remembered he hadn't touched a single revision.
"How far did you get? Let me see it. I need to know before I decide what we're doing."
She asked because she assumed that a man who'd promised to meet a deadline would have made at least some progress.
"Uh, well, that's..."
But with nothing revised at all, Woojin's brain scrambled for an excuse and came up empty. All he managed was stammering and sputtering.
"Don't tell me you didn't do any of it."
The air in the studio was turning ugly. Eunchae and Dohyun, who still hadn't left for the cafe, started glancing around uncomfortably.
"...No, it's not like I did nothing..."
"Then let me see it."
He kept lying. He kept hunting for a way out. No way out appeared.
"Noona, if it's alright with you, how about I take that video? If he's gotten anywhere with it, I can knock it out pretty quick."
While Woojin just sat there chewing his lip, Dohyun stepped forward and spoke up.
"You, Dohyun?"
Dayeon looked a little startled by the sudden offer. Seeing that expression, Woojin let out a sneer.
Is this bastard actually serious? Thinks this job is a joke? Some guy who's never even done proper editing work wants to just take my video? Yeah, like the boss is going to go along with that.
Assuming Dayeon would refuse, Woojin didn't bother inserting himself into the conversation.
With Dohyun's style... he might not even need that many revisions. The quality might drop a bit, taking over someone else's video, but it's still better than not uploading at all...
Contrary to everything Woojin assumed, Dayeon was seriously considering it. She knew Dohyun's style well from the fan videos he'd made, and that only made her hesitate more. If any other editor had offered, she would have shut it down on the spot. But Dohyun? She found herself thinking he might actually be someone she could trust.
"Alright. Want to give it a shot?"
"What?! That's the video I was working on and you're giving it to that guy?"
Woojin shouted, stunned by the answer he hadn't seen coming.
"I told you to use proper titles."
"...Ah. Sorry about that. Ahem. Anyway, I'll do it. Wouldn't I be faster than that guy who— I mean, faster than Dohyun, who's never even done this kind of work before?"
"Even if you're faster, if it keeps getting sent back, it'll take even longer. Are you confident you can start revising right now and get it approved without a single rejection?"
Dayeon looked like she'd already made up her mind.
"Sorry, Eunchae. We'll have to do the cafe later."
"It's fine, unnie. We can go at lunch."
Dayeon had wanted to give the two of them some time alone if she could, but the situation was what it was.
"Dohyun, can you set up the program and get started right away?"
"Yes, of course."
"Woojin, I'll give you Dohyun's email. Send the video there. Right now."
"...Fine."
The reply was curt, dripping with irritation. Naturally, nobody was there to soothe him.
"We need to upload it a little later, so as fast as you can, please. I'm sorry this is happening the second you walked in the door."
Dayeon stepped into the room and apologized with a sigh. She'd never intended to throw a time attack at Dohyun on his very first day.
His first day. His first job. I never thought it'd turn out like this.
Her head was already starting to throb.
"It's fine. All kinds of things come up when you're working. The file's in, so I'll get started right away."
"Alright. I'm counting on you."
After a quick setup of the software, Dohyun locked in and began to edit.
He's really fast.
Once the work started, he seemed to forget Dayeon was even in the room. The sheer intensity of his focus drew a quiet sound of admiration from her. And the way he handled the tools felt unexpectedly extraordinary.
The quality seems even higher than the videos he sent as his portfolio.
Watching the edit come together piece by piece, Dayeon couldn't stop being amazed. His speed with the tools was ruthlessly efficient, and his style kept landing exactly on what she wanted — pinpointing it, every single time.
I really made the right call hiring him.
All the things she'd admired in his fan videos, now fused with this level of quality. She had the distinct feeling that something truly incredible was about to take shape.
"Hmm. This part isn't needed."
He cut the unnecessary sections without hesitation, found better material in the raw footage, and stitched it together so the whole thing flowed — and all of it was happening fast. There was something almost mesmerizing about the way he worked, clean and lean, not a single wasted motion. Even though she had her own work waiting, Dayeon just stood there, transfixed, watching him edit.