I did not expect to start working right afterwards.

The front desk woman repeatedly glances at me, uncomfortable as I wait for her to give me orders.

Yeap. I’m working with her today.

Apparently, Yang CEO says he can’t find me a fixed job so he’s going to slip me in wherever workers are short at the moment. Today, it’s with the front desk woman. There are a bunch of parcels that will be delivered later and to help lessen her task, I will be the one handing out the parcels to the appropriate people while the front desk woman will man her desk.

Yang CEO even tells her to use me in any way I am required to. Not something I like to hear, though what boss says is his right. However, she doesn’t seem to misuse his statement to bully me. The fact that she does not even try to speak to me baffles me. Did boss say something scary before this? What did he tell her that puts fear into her eyes?

“Ah Raina,” a man approaches the front desk with a light smile. “Here are some parcels for you.”

I stand up to look and gasp in surprise.

Men dressed in jumpsuits push in boxes of varying sizes on three trolleys.

“That’s a lot,” I blurt out, shocked. I try to nudge one of the bigger boxes and feel the weight push against my foot. They’re heavy too! “I thought parcels meant documents…”

“These are props YG ordered,” the only man dressed smartly reply. His henchmen in jumpsuits wait behind him. “There’s some documents too.” He points to what I originally envision parcels to be. 

“Oh.”

“Where do you want us to carry them? The usual place?” the man addresses Raina.

“I can’t allow you to enter the building further, Jung Hoon,” she answers with the kindest tone I’ve ever heard her use. “After the theft last time, they don’t want deliverymen in the building anymore.”

“But you know I can be trusted,” he attempts to convince Raina.

“Until you catch the thief, you’re not entering beyond this point,” Raina firmly tells him. He isn’t? Am I supposed to be the one pushing the trolleys around from here on, then? He is furious, but doesn’t argue further.

Raina turns to me now and gives me a slip of paper. She instructs me, telling me which parcels will go to which office. Meanwhile, all the boxes will be placed in the office on the third floor.

“What are these props for, I wonder?” I ask, curious. “Is it for a music video? Wow. That would be cool.”

“No snooping,” Raina warns before turning away.

I’m not that nosy.

I push the first trolley with the boxes in first, entering the elevator.

While I was waiting for the parcels to arrive, I went out on a quick shopping trip and bought myself a black snapback. I put it on. Inconspicuous. I look at my reflection on the elevator door. I legitimately pull of a normal delivery girl look. Now with my face covered, I confidently stroll along the hallway, peeking into open doors (sorry Raina!).

Every room is amazing! I was born into a regular middle class earning family, so I’ve had my fair share of beautiful houses but everything in this building just blows all of that away.

I reach my destination and knock on the door.

“Delivery!” I exclaim, excited. Everyone ignores me, continuing with their work. The walls are plastered with artworks. I catch myself staring at a fascinating poster stuck on the biggest space on the wall when somebody blocks my view.

“That’s classified,” he states curtly and points to a nearby storage closet. “Put the boxes there.”

I glance at the woman working on the computer next to the storage closet. Oh! Hanbin!

The woman is working on his photo, enhancing his skin and enlarging his biceps. No! She’s overdoing it! He looks fine as is. What’s she doing? She moves on to the next person. I’m not sure who this is. I honestly only know Hanbin because when Munhee introduced me to them way back when, he was the one to catch my eye. I should probably familiarize myself with the YG artists if I’ll be working here. This guy shows his abs a lot in the photos and the woman makes his abs appear more glowing. His body seems to be the centre of attention in his photos, most of it with him topless. I see a tattoo on his back. Words written around at the centre of his back in a circular design.

I finish unloading my first batch of boxes so I went to grab the second. Then the third. Off I go to grab the parcels this time.

I read the destination of the final parcel and swallow my suddenly dry throat.

Big Bang’s recording room!

I knock on the door nervously.

“Delivery,” I croak.

“Come in,” a voice invites me. I open the door and thank goodness, the person doesn’t look up from the machine he is working on.

“I’ll just leave it here.” I place the document on a table.

“Wait a second, I need you to send something,” he says, turning in the opposite direction and flip through some papers. Oh my goodness. He hasn’t seen me yet.

“Can you switch on the light?” he turns around to face me, pointing to the switch beside me.

I do as he tells me to, but I notice he doesn’t continue searching through the papers.

“You’re a delivery girl?” Jiyong asks. I feel his stare piercing through my snapback.

I nod and hand out my hand, asking for the documents he want me to pass out for him.

He realizes this and goes back sifting through the papers.

“I’m really curious about you now,” he continues, his voice chilling me. “What type of delivery girl sits comfortably in Yang CEO’s office? Don’t you think that’s odd?”

It is odd. I completely agree.

“He told me to make myself at home,” I say truthfully. He’ll never figure out that Yang CEO literally meant what he said.

He chuckles in disbelief. “Did he now?” Yes, yes, yes, yes.

Before he even passes the paper, I snatch it from his hand.

“Give it to Teddy!” he yells as I shut the door behind me.

----

I sit in front of Yang CEO’s office, behind his assistant’s desk. His assistant is a nice middle-aged lady and even passes me some candies.

“Stay here as long as you want,” she tells me softly.

I contemplate about my life. I know why I’m not disclosing my life story to people who is wondering about it. Mr. Hyuk told me not to. It’s not good if too many people are in the loop about me and my sister’s story. Rumours spread. Negative rumours ruin celebrities all the time. They don’t even have to be true – they just have to be out there for people to make their own judgements.

How do I deal with the curious Big Bang leader? Perhaps I should convince him that I can be trusted. He is probably worried about me telling people about his phone call. Honestly, I’d forget the phone call by now if he isn’t trying to treat it as if it was a big deal. It’s not!

People get into relationships. They call each other. They argue. Whatever.

I’m not one to be bothered with celebrities’ relationships!

Hanbin crosses my mind and I feel a tinge of jealousy at the thought of discovering his relationship. I brush the thought off to the back of my mind. I’m just being a Hanbin fangirl. I don’t even know him aside from his looks. How does he act? What does he like?

“What does it matter?!?!”, I hear my sensible self shouting to my over-imaginative persona in my head. I will not even get to build a relationship with him, why do I even bother with these thoughts? I’ve got bigger problems.

I try harder to shove these thoughts away but flashes of his photo that I saw on the computer screen keep popping up.

“Tomorrow, iKon will be going to Japan,” Da Eun, Yang CEO’s assistant, comments randomly.

“I’m sorry?” Icon? What icon? 

“iKon,” she repeats, turning to face me. “You know, the new boys.”

Question marks plaster all over my face.

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t exactly have access to these kind of information,” I confess, pushing my falling hair strands behind my ear. I really need to get a haircut. Money, money. “I’m not sure if you know about my situation,” I add as an afterthought.

I can see from the way her expression turns to become more understanding that she knows about my life.

“Ah yes. Yes. Well, these boys,” she takes out her phone and types ‘iKon’ onto the search bar. It’s Team B from WIN. Munhee didn’t mention them changing their names!

“Hanbin,” I manage to say without thinking.

“Yes!” Da Eun exclaims, excited that I recognize someone. “Do you know him?”

“I – I don’t. I – I – just know his name, that’s all,” I stutter, edgy at my careless fangirling actions. It isn’t appropriate to be fangirling in the YG building! It’s pathetic!

“Yes, yes, that’s what I meant,” she says, smiling. Her smile is suspicious. “I didn’t think you would actually know him.”

I’m furious at myself when I feel blood rushing to my cheeks for no reason.

“Well, what I was saying,” she says, reading an email. “Their manager says their apartment is empty tomorrow and they need a house cleaner ASAP.”

Don’t tell me this is her way of asking me to be one??

“Their house cleaner just quit on them,” she mutters, disappointed.

“Unfortunate,” I comment, unsure where this conversation is going.

“Do you know any house cleaners perhaps?” she asks.

Is she indirectly offering me the job? I can’t tell from watching her back.

“I don’t have the privilege to browse for house cleaners.”

“I see.”

The door to the CEO’s office opens and Yang CEO exits his room.

“Yang CEO,” Da Eun says, standing up. I follow her actions and bow at him.

“Oh, you’re here,” he points at me. “How was work?”

“I’ve finished it and Raina says I wasn’t needed anymore so I waited here. I’ve worked for only three hours so that would make my pay fifteen dollars,” I tell him at length. He looks flustered by my detailed description.

“Um…we’ll talk about the pay later.”

“Just pay me fifteen dollars. That’s what’s fair,” I repeat myself so it’s clear to him. I’m not a charity case. I work. I get paid. “In fact, I shouldn’t even get paid. Having a sleeping accommodation in return for working is good enough.”

He doesn’t know what to say since I caught him off guard. “We’ll talk about this later.”

“Uh, CEO,” Da Eun interjects before he starts leaving. “iKon’s manager asked for a cleaner to tidy up their apartment tomorrow when they leave for Japan.”

“Why are you asking me this?” he asks, baffled. “I don’t deal with these problems.”

“That’s true…” she pauses, glancing at me. “But you sent an email to everyone, telling them to tell you if they need help during the weekends because you are able to provide a casual worker.”

Oh. So that’s what he did.

“And you told them it doesn’t matter how menial the task is because it doesn’t matter,” she adds carefully. She’s being cautious since she sees the changes in my expression when I understand what she’s been trying to tell me.

Oh no. So that was how Yang CEO tried to find me a job. He freaking emailed everyone in the company!

Yang CEO, finally comprehending, asks me, "Um, are you free tomorrow?”

----

I sit in the vocal training room – my new founded bedroom from now on.

It’s just another job on the list. Why am I panicking? Is it because Hanbin is in iKon?

Why does that matter? I will not be seeing him.

I’ll be cleaning his apartment. I need to be professional.

“Delivery!” Da Eun exclaims and barges into my private space. She’s carrying a green blanket with pillows tucked underneath her arms.

“What’s this?” I ask, stunned.

“Your makeshift bed, love,” she replies with a grin.

She arranges it on the floor for me. Raina comes in bringing a rolled up mattress. Da Eun unfolds it for me and fixes my new ‘bed’.

When Raina leaves, Da Eun pats the mattress, inviting me to lie in it.

“Come on,” she urges. “Don’t be shy.”

I slip under the blanket and she places the pillow under my head.

“How does it feel?” she asks, sitting on the edge of the mattress.

I try to answer but I choke. What is this? I feel secured. Protected. Safe.

She leans over and rubs the top of my head gently, “It’s okay. Don’t worry.”

I make another attempt to speak - at least, to thank her - but tears stream down my face instead.

“Don’t worry, Youngmi.”

Don’t worry, Youngmi.