Ireland has some of the most beautiful scenery. Fiji has the clearest waters I have ever seen. The Alps in Switzerland are cold yet majestic. The Northern Lights shine like a beautiful curtain of iridescent lights. Italy has some of the finest collection of Renaissance art and France has some of the best wine this side of the world.

                Many stories have been told of the world’s most beautiful landscapes and some of the most defining moments of history were written by authors. Chinese author’s Wu Cheng En wrote Journey to the West, one of the 4 great Chinese Literatures. The book is said to have inspired many of the current science fiction and fantasy novels today, and was inspired by a monk’s travel from China to India. William Shakespeare’s work have described and entertained to us the meaning of love for decades. Homer wrote Illiad and Odyssey, two of the greatest Greek literatures. There’s Sun Tzu’s Art of War, Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and many more.

                Difference? They were all written by different people from different ages and told different stories.

                Similarities? They were all great stories.

                My name is Zhang Yixing. You may know me better from my pen name, Lay. You haven’t? Well that might have something to do with the fact that you spend 97% of your conscious time checking your phone and watching videos on Youtube of hot half- Korean boys making out or videos of a harmless kitty playing with yarn.

                Still, I digress. What you do with your time is entirely up to you. Don’t let the old man spoil your fun.

                I’m not old, really. I’m in my early twenties (and no, I will not reveal my age because some people might take the opportunity to actually call me old once I do reveal it) and currently out of work. Yes, I’m a homeless hobo living on a single savings account and a suitcase I drag around the world.

                My suitcase has as many stamps and stickers on them as I do have kisses stained on my jacket after just a stroll through Red Light District in Amsterdam. My experience of smoking for the first time and being called y by a bunch of girls in bikinis have certainly been quite the highlight of my trip. I don’t think I’d find what I’m looking for at the bottom of a smoke pot though.

                What am I looking for you ask? I’m looking for a story. A great story. I don’t want some fancy, fluff filled romance story. I don’t want a boring historical story either about wars and people in funny looking hats. I want a story to end all stories. A story of life and love, of hardship and disappointments, of betrayal and loyalty. Oh, and some bits on probably wouldn’t hurt either.

                My first novel, Lord of Bees, about a girl who dreams of being the controller of bees has made me quite the household name. The book did really well, and I even got a movie proposal, but I turned it down because of the actress they hired to play the lead. Some chick named Miley Cyrus.

                Later I found out that she dressed like a hooker and gives herself wedgies on a giant hot dog.

                And she was supposed to play a gallant female hero with wings?

                Granted, that was a few years ago, before her -smacking self now. I haven’t been able to write since then. I have travelled all over the world in search of inspiration, but really, I got nothing. Except some awesome souvenirs, several tips from working as a waiter, a few s by old ladies who find me cute during a train ride in Japan and a sunburn from the beach in Hawaii.

                With my bank account coming close to a single digit, I decided to travel back to home country, South Korea. I was born in China, but raised in South Korea. My parents flew back to China after I started travelling but luckily, this girl I worked with at a bar in Brazil told me she has a friend in South Korea who was looking for a housemate.

                I decided to take up her offer. I took the subway from the airport and ended up in a housing district a little out of the Gangnam area. The map she drew for me wasn’t that hard and I soon found myself knocking on a stranger’s door. Not exactly something I’m unfamiliar with.

                “Yeah?” the door opened to reveal a young man. He’s tough with fierce eyes and striking blonde hair. He was taller than me and was swinging a nun chuck. I stepped back just in case.

                “Are you Huang Zitao?”

                “Yeah, what’s it to you?”

                “I’m Zhang Yixing, your new housemate? Becky told me to call you?”

                The nun chucks he was swinging immediately flew from his hands and into a corner. He looked at me and dropped his jaw a little. “Oh my god, I am so sorry! Here, come on in!” He opened the door wider and let me in. I realized his voice had gotten just a few tones higher than before.

                Despite his tough exterior and expert nun chuck throwing skills, the inside of the deco was much more home-like. Soft couch with cute throw pillows, wall to wall of trophies, nice big screen TV and a pretty big dining table.

                “Come, let me show you to your room upstairs.”

                “Oh, don’t bother with my suitcase. It’s too…” With one heave, he lifted it up with one hand like it was a bag of socks.

                “I’m sorry, what were you gonna say?”

                “Er…nothing.”

                “Cool, follow me.”

                My room was pretty reasonably sized. Not too big, not too small. It’s got a nice single bed with a window seat. The pink curtains are a little too pinkish for me but I do appreciate the nice desk in there with the accent of some wild prints on some of the deco furniture.

                “Becky tells me you’re a writer.”

                “Yes I am.”

                “So how many books have your written?”

                “Just one.” I took off my coat and hung it up. “Lord of the Bees. Have you read it?”

                “Sorry, all I read are fitness books and martial arts manuals.”

                “Oh yeah, Becky says you have a martial arts centre right?”

                “Yep,” Zitao, or I think I’ll just call him Tao, smiled. “I’m also a martial arts choreographer. You know for movies or TV shows and stuff.”

                “Cool. So you know how to catch flies with a pair of chopsticks?”

                He laughed at that one. He’s got a nice laughter, high pitched and cute. “Come down to the kitchen and I’ll teach you.”

                He gave me some time to unpack before joining him for a snack. It wasn’t much, some leftover rice cakes from last night and some hot tea. We sat at the table to work out our expenses. We basically agreed to split rent, utility and food bills in half. Tao comes home late sometimes and I volunteered to do the cooking if I come home first.

                “Do you know anywhere that needs hiring?” I asked. “I could use a job to support myself. Being an author isn’t enough.”

                “Well there’s the café across the road that needs dishwashers, but you’ll have to fight off some big rats there.” He grimaced. “My suggestion is to try this.” He handed over today’s help wanted section of the newspaper.

                “There’s one that says personal assistant wanted.” I said, circling the ad. “It says well paid, health and transport provided and worker’s pension account. Over 20 years of age, computer literate, willing to work long hours and on weekends and no experience necessary.”

                “Who’s it from?”

                “Starling Entertainment.”

                “Cool! That’s the biggest entertainment agency here!” Tao said. “I’ve worked with them before. They are pretty cool! Got some of the best artists ever.”

                “Like who?”

                “Ever heard of BxL?”

                “What’s that? Some sort of fancy bike?”

                “That’s BMX. This is B-X-L.” He pronounced slowly. “The biggest Kpop duo ever.”

                “I’ve been out of Kpop for years I’m afraid.” Tao shrugged.

                “You should go ahead and try. No harm in that.”

                “Perhaps. But how many of them would wanna hire a person of my skill? I don’t see being able to say ‘would you like milk?’ in 7 different languages would be of any good.”

                “Do you make coffee?”

                “Yeah.”

                “Then you’re hired. They’ll always hire people who make good coffee.”

                                                                                ***************

                “Do you make coffee?”

                Wow.

                The first question of my job interview was regarding a cup of java.

                “Yes I do.” I breathed, smoothing out the creases on Tao’s dress shirt. Tao was nice enough to lend me a few clothes for this interview. It wasn’t that hard to pick out, since his wardrobe is filled with funky printed T-shirts, ripped jeans and high tops.

                “If I asked for an Americano with whipped cream at 3 in the afternoon, would you make it?”

                “Sure.”

                “What about a cappuccino at 2 in the morning and I happen to be in Busan?”

                “Er, then I’m pretty sure I can’t deliver…”

                “And you call yourself a personal assistant?” my interviewer threw my CV back on his desk. He’s tall, blonde with a set of eyes that looked like tiger’s in the night. His face looked like something Michelangelo spent years working on and his suit? Giorgio Armani, priced at 3000 USD.

                And it goes with the 4000 dollar Rolex he has on his wrist.

                “But Mr. Wu,” I cleared my throat for a bit. “I’m sure you can get your own coffee in Busan. And why would you need it at 2 in the morning?”

                “I’m a workaholic and very particular about my coffee. I can hardly trust anyone to make good coffee except my staff at home.”

                And you asked me if I can make coffee? Or is he testing me?

                I kept my composure as he stood up and paced around his office. He’s even taller now that he’s standing up.

                “Do you know any of the artists that work for me?”

                “Uhm…I’m not that familiar with them.”

                “Mr. Zhang, what makes you think you’re qualified to work for me?”

                “I’m hardworking and dedicated. I’m organized and I handle orders well.” Plus I’m desperate. Thankfully I didn’t put that in.

                “You know, I have a reputation for being scary.” He said, leaning against the table and crossing his arms. “I fire people as easily as I can hire them. I do not settle for anything less than what I really want. I like my coffee black in the morning and iced in the afternoon. I’ve got more contacts that the phone book and more dates and meetings planned than President Obama.”

                “I like my suits pressed in a certain manner. I eat spaghettis on Monday, fish on Tuesday, Wednesday is vegetarian, Mexican on Thursday and Chinese on Friday. I like my martinis shaken, not stirred. I know the lord of the underground drug world and I used to sleep with the Prime Minister’s daughter.”

                “Really?”

                “Yes, except the Mexican on Thursday. I like pizza on Thursday.” He dusted his shoulder. “My personal assistant needs to fly with me all over the world for business, organize my meetings and appointments, accompany me to clubs and high-end social events and walk behind me on the red carpet. He needs to memorize my meal menus, go to any lengths to get them fulfil, answer my calls at all times of the day and make sure my suit is neatly pressed and make sure I have no green stuff in my teeth." He showed me his teeth and I looked at it, giving him the thumbs up that it’s clear.

                “He needs to work on weekends and holidays. If I’m working, so is he. He has to put up with my tantrums and I also like throwing stuff when I’m upset so he needs to clean up after the vases I break and buy new ones to replace. I also like to curse so he needs to listen to me as a curse. And I’m a bit of a ing sailor sometimes.” No kidding.

                “Being my personal assistant is stressful and terrifying. It’s like being on a roller coaster that never ends. You work long and odd hours, travelling to unknown places and you will live to serve me.” He walked towards me and brought his face close to mine, letting his eyes pierce into my face. “And if you do anything to cross me, I will hunt you down and kill you. I also have a kink.” He leaned forward to whisper in my ear. “I like my boys and tied down with a gag.”

                “Okay.” Was the almost silent reply. I gripped my chair but I couldn’t move an inch. I was frightened, and also strangely .

                “That’s it? No questions?”

                I shook my head. I just really wanted to be out of here.

                “Good.” He walked back to his seat and handed me my CV. “You’re hired.” 

A/N: There it is. The first chapter of a new story and what promises to be (I hope) a new adventure. I'm not going to tell you where this is heading but I just want to say be prepared for a lot of surprises along the way! That is, if you guys want to stick along for the ride...XD

Thank you for the upvotes and subbies even before the story started!! That is so awesome and I'm so overwhelmed! I love you guys so much!!!

As a present I present to you, a booty and a

On another note, so I just got back home from school to hear that Baekhyun and Taeyeon are dating. WHAT?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Okay, I don't know about you guys but I am actually FLOORED to hear the news. I'm genuinely, 100%, totally and excruciatingly so happy for them. No, like, seriously. I was screaming in my room and giggling for joy. Seriously.

I love puppy Baekhyun so much and Taeyeon is like my ultimate girl bias ever. I know that I would rather them date each other rather than someone else, honestly. Plus, they can sing. HOLY ING WHAT IF SM ALLOWS THEM TO MAKE A DUET?!?!?!?!?!?? AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I know nothing has been confirmed, especially by SM, but if it is true, I will be really, extremely happy for them. If not then, oh well...Next stop, Chanyeol and Sandara (or Park Bom, anybody watching Roommate? XD), Chen and Zhang Liyin (oh god I may be the only person who ships them like this) and yeah, most definitely Kaisoo.

Dispatch, get out there and do you business!!!!

To all Baekhyun stans or Taeyeon stans or maybe hardcore Baekyeol shippers (I ship Baekyeol too actually, but that won't change my story) who are upset, I apologize if I may have offended you by my overexcitement. Hang tight people! It'll be okay! Love you guys!!