I lifted my heavy head and glanced at the clock on the wall.

It is already 10.55 p.m. Right now, I should be having my strawberry milk instead of washing these dirty dishes.

I should be Youtube-ing instead of washing these dirty dishes.

I should be snoring in my comforter back in the apartment now instead of washing these dirty dishes.

I should be doing something else and NOT washing these dirty dishes.

Oh goodness. My shoulders weigh two tons I could feel myself collapsing anytime soon. Are my arms still intact? I couldn’t feel them any longer. Neither could I feel my remaining limbs. Twelve straight hours of work is like an anaesthetic jab from head to toe. Did you have any idea about my workload? The number of things I do per day drives me to The Land of the Insane. Currently, I’m working in a pizza restaurant as a waitress ‘sanitary manager’. I serve, scrub and clean for up to twelve hours a day, five days a week. I don’t mind the long hours as the pay is quite reasonable and my colleagues are nice; but the only thing I can’t stand are the customers. They are so different compared to the customers back in my mom’s restaurant.

Reasons of why I say the customers here are mad:

Reason #1 – They never stop flooding in. They come in many types of patterns too -Patterns of trouble. Before I could settle the bill for Table No.1, Table No. 2 calls for the menu. At Table No. 3, a kid spills her soda on the floor and at the very moment, the customer at Table No. 4 requests for extra cheese. Gosh, give me a break!

Reason #2 – 99.99% of the customers here have the exact same interest – they are nuts about this boyband called TVXQ. Did I mention that the owner of the restaurant has a son who is in TVXQ? His son has the weirdest name I’ve ever heard…it goes something like…Xiah? Honestly speaking, I haven’t got a single clue about these TVXQ people. They seem to be pretty hot here in Korea though. I see them everywhere; TV, tabloids, billboards…even the restaurant itself is full of pictures of this Xiah guy. And the top reason of why I strongly feel that the customers here are cuckoo…

Reason #3 – They adore cardboards. Cardboards! F.Y.I., there is a life-sized cardboard figure of Xiah in the restaurant. Everyday, at least twenty people will get me to snap not only one, but dozens of pictures of them posing with the cardboard. Then they go berserk when they see the picture they had taken and get all excited over nothing. Once, a crazy schoolgirl fan tried to run away with the cardboard, which was a failed attempt by the way. You can never remove anything from the shop that has TVXQ on it under the customers’ watchful eyes. Unfortunately, the insanity does not just end right there and then. It continues even after all the customers are gone; when the doors are shut and when the ‘close’ sign is put up. You wouldn’t even want to look at the amount of crockery and cutlery royally waiting to be scrubbed and rinsed.

Maybe I shouldn’t be the Little Miss Complain Queen. Things are not as bad as it sounds. On the contrary, I’ve got a very considerate employer who is very concerned about the welfare of his employees. Mr. Kim, my boss, was the one who found me a place to stay and I will forever feel indebted to him for that. Besides, he’s always thankful as his son’s fans are very supportive towards his family. To show his gratitude, he would personally attend to their home deliveries. What a great boss I’ve got here. It is now twelve sharp; my colleagues and I finally managed to finish everything. It’s a wonder how I was able to drag myself all the way back to the apartment. Actually, that apartment does not belong to me. As you know, I could only afford to rent a room with this humble salary of mine. F.Y.I., I currently reside with the Shim family which consists of 5 members altogether; one of them M.I.A at the moment. I moved in one week ago. Mrs. Kim and Mrs. Shim happen to be friends and…the rest are history. At first, Mrs. Shim had no intentions of letting her son’s room out but changed her mind after getting to know about my pitiful situation. I’m not that pathetic but I was running low on cash after a week of stay upon my arrival in Korea. I have to admit that I’m really lucky as I no longer need to worry about my lodging and food. However, I still have to worry about my university tuition fees. The first semester has been paid by mom but I’ve got to do some fundraising for the remaining semesters. Sigh. Why is it that everything in life has something to do with money?! I tried to be as quiet as possible upon entering the apartment. Leaving my shoes outside, I turned the doorknob slowly - only to find Mrs. Shim on the other side of the door, wearing an apron and smelling of ginseng chicken soup. Ginseng chicken soup! One of my favourites after strawberry milk! Suddenly, all the fatigue left me and soon, I find myself gulping down the scrumptious bowl of piping hot soup. ‘Tomorrow is your off day?’ Mrs. Shim asked as I gulped down my last mouthful of soup. I nodded. ‘Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow,’ I answered. ‘I was wondering,’ she started, ‘if you are interested in earning extra allowance. The company my son works for is holding a major event tomorrow and they are in urgent need of manpower. Since tomorrow is your off day-’ ‘YES!’ I stood up immediately but quickly got down when it suddenly hit me that it was already past midnight. ‘Sorry Mrs. Shim, I mean, yes, I would love to work at your son’s company.’ ‘Good! Now, go get some rest, watch the TV or something, and I will handle everything here,’ she said as she started taking the bowl away for washing. I’ve always thought Mrs. Shim had the same shoulders as my mom. They both have a mother’s shoulder…small and slender yet able to carry the burdens of the world…tears filled my eyes. ‘My son called me just now,’ said Mrs. Shim suddenly, and I quickly wiped away the tears. ‘He’s returning the day after tomorrow with his fiancé.’ Oh. The M.I.A. Boy - The guy whom inherited the best genes in the family. As quoted by Ji Yeon, by the way. If you didn’t know, Ji Yeon is the second child in the family, and I must say that her height is waaay tall for a girl. She is really witty but I guess her brother is a genius as she always says that she has only one tenth of her brother’s intelligence. The youngest, Ji Eun is a petite girl whom has an appetite that knows no limit. Despite her lanky figure, Ji Eun consumes six bowls of rice during dinner and you will never see her without any food in her hands. Everytime I look at her munching away in front of the TV, she would go, ‘What? My brother has a stomach as big as the universe okay.’ Umm…okay then. ‘Omma,’ Ji Eun called out from her room. ‘Oppa called just now to remind you to clean up his room.’ ‘Don’t worry Ji Eun,’ I said, ‘I’ve got everything under control.’ Mrs. Shim smiled at me. ‘If you don’t mind, you will have to squeeze with the girls.’ ‘I don’t mind a single bit. Do you mind, Ji Eun?’ I called towards her room. ‘Whatever, I want to sleep already.’ So do I. Yawnn. ‘Good night Mrs. Shim.’ Good night mom.

-End of Chapter 1-