───   One   ───

    I stepped off the bus with two large luggages in tow, my backpack securely hanging off both my shoulders. I made it. I finally did it. I was in Gangnam and I was here to stay. After so many efforts and so many failures, I was standing there, breathing the same air as him once again. We were separated for years, but in a matter of a few months, that was going to change.

    “Park Jihae?” a girl not much older than me asked. I turned towards her, surprised at first, but I instantly recognized her. She looked exactly as she did in the photos, much to my relief. Her name was Kim Hwayoung and she was to be my roommate. I took a risky gamble by taking up my friend on such a shady offer, but Hwayoung looked promising. She was much taller and skinnier in person, which I was incredibly envious of. To add onto her beauty, she had flawless skin and soft curls dancing throughout her hair. I bet she never has to use any photo editing app in her SNS pictures.

    “That’s me.” I gave her a smile to which she merely nodded. She her heel and began walking in the opposite direction, leaving me to scramble after her with my bulky bags. Just when I thought my arms were going to give out, we arrived at the steps of a skyscraper. She effortlessly climbed the stairs and watched me from the top as I lugged myself up. In that moment, I felt like a peasant working under the eyes of a strict queen.

    “Hurry up, I still have schedule today,” she called, pulling out her phone to send a quick text. Soon enough, we took an elevator to the ninth floor of the building and walked to the very end of the hallway. With the turn of a key, the door swung open and I entered my new home. It was fully furnished in a chic design that perfectly matched Hwayoung’s image.

    “It’s gorgeous!” I exclaimed. I dropped my things and walked in to examine the rest of it.

    “Of course, I had an interior designer personally set this up for me. Your room is on the right, by the way. Under no circumstances are you allowed in my area of the apartment which is on the left. If you trespass, I’ll throw you out immediately. And also, move your things, you’re going to get the floor dirty.”

    “R-Right, I’m sorry! I’ll be on my way, then. Thank you so much for this opportunity, I hope that we can live together happily and peacefully.” I formally bowed towards her, but she was already walking to the left. I mentally noted that some people are just naturally cold while I dragged my things into my room.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

    “Good morning, my name is Park Jihae. I’m looking forward to working with you all!” I greeted my coworkers at 8 AM sharp the next morning. They gave some sort of vague acknowledgement before continuing whatever it is they were doing.

    “Great!” My boss said. “Nari here is going to orient you for the rest of the week. I’ll be leaving now, I have an urgent phone call to take.” Once she left, Nari immediately turned towards me with a bright smile on her face.

    “Kim Nari, 20 years old. Nice to meet you!” Sometimes, there are people that you like immediately for no particular reason. That’s how I felt about Nari. I liked her already. How could you not with her doe-like eyes and sweet face? She really reminded me of a baby deer.

    “I’m 20, as well! I’m Jihae, but you already knew that. I’m very excited to start.” Nari proceeded to talk me through the basics of our job and led me to the back room.

    “This is where we store all of our products! We take an inventory on the last Friday of each month and replenish on the following Monday.” We walked through multiple aisles of steel shelves stacked with expensive brands of products. 

    “Amazing! So when can I start? Do I need to do a demo of some sort first maybe?” Nari’s smile faltered for a moment. She explained that I wouldn’t be doing that sort of thing today. Instead, she handed me a list of products and a large box to go with it. She and I were going to be organizing some boxes for tomorrow’s schedule. Eventually, my buzzer went off and I headed to station 7, where my boss was working on a young lady. She ordered me to grab a specific palette from the backroom. Afterwards, my unnie at station 2 asked me to grab a different foundation shade, as well. I spent my day going back and forth between the salon and the backroom, each time bearing a new product for my coworkers. I couldn’t even get a break until after lunch.

    “Ah, I feel like I didn’t even do much, but I’m so tired!” I complained to Nari as I slumped down onto the floor. She was still organizing the boxes on her own. She was probably doing it more efficiently because I wasn’t there bothering her.

    “It’s draining work, really. Did unnies tell you what they wanted for lunch?” I shook my head no.

    “In that case, go ask them. Make sure you record their orders accurately.” I gave her a weird look. Why would I need to remember their orders? At any rate, I went out to talk to them and without me even asking, they already told me what their plans were for lunch. They wanted sandwiches from the Blue Bird Cafe and drinks from Espresso Bay. I reported back to Nari who had her coat on.

    “Okay, let’s go then. We can’t keep them waiting!” I threw my coat and purse on in a haste and followed her out the door.

    “We’re picking up lunch?” I asked, nearly bumping into a few people while I tried to stay walking beside her.

    “Yes. The newbies always pick up lunch, y’know. Was it not like this at your previous job?” It would be an understatement to say that I was disappointed in my job. I applied to be a makeup artist, hairdresser, and clothing stylist, but the work I was assigned had nothing to do with any of that. It seemed that I was more of an errand girl. I would organize the backroom, fetch products for my unnies, and pick up lunch for everyone. How was I supposed to work up in seniority if I haven’t done anything? There was no other way for me to see him unless I became the main makeup artist at our studio.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁

    “Isn’t it unfair?” I asked Nari one day as we grabbed some drinks at a cafe after work.

    “What is?” she replied, taking a sip of her mango tea.

    “That we can’t even do what we signed up for! I thought I was supposed to be working for clients, not for my coworkers!”

    “I know, it isn’t fair, but that’s all we can do for now.”

    “Can’t we somehow prove ourselves? Show our boss that we're just as capable as the rest of them? Maybe then we can get our own clients!”

    “Jihae, don’t you know? Our unnies had to do the same thing as us for over two years before they were promoted. I’ve only been doing this for eight months and you just started. We still have a long way to go. Also, this type of business is hard to become notable in. It’s become oversaturated as the years went by, too much competition now.” Nari had a point. There’s always a place to start, even if it’s a terrible place to start, and yes, there were many other girls just as eager as us in this field. It just frustrated me that it might take years until I could have a chance of seeing him. Even then, the chances were slim. He was such a famous celebrity and I was merely an amateur. I would never be allowed to even be near him. Maybe I made a mistake coming here, thinking that I could see him again. I underestimated everything. It seemed like only a miracle could bring us together at this point.

𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁𐄙𐄁