Jiyeon loved her life. She guessed she did. Upon her 18 years of living, she used to think she had everything – wealth, talents. However, after days passed by and Jiyeon got older, she seemed to realize that those were not necessarily enough. Dreams are essential too, she thought. When she turned eight, once, she attended her best friend, IU’s birthday party and she shed tears when she heard IU singing a beautiful song, probably a remake song from an old sonata – and it touched Jiyeon’s little heart. Since that day, she had been dreaming to become a singer, even the thought seemed impossible because she was supposed to be the heir of her stepfather’s company.

Jiyeon knew she was not the best, even if she had to compare herself to her mother who could not even sort out the chords when someone played the grand piano, to say the least – but she knew that she was best enough for herself to stand along with other people. She wanted people to know her and her existence, as Park Jiyeon.

“Go ahead, sweetie. I know you will do great.”

“You call that a job? Doing something that takes no responsibility?”

Jiyeon’s little dream; Mom approved it, but not Dad. He was strongly against the idea.

“No, you will continue to study. Otherwise you will be immature and stupid.”

Was that how her dream looked like? Stupid?

“You should handle my company soon, as promised. Then you’ll make us proud.”

That was what he said, but what of Mom? She said nothing.

“Jiyeon, you should listen to your father.”

Jiyeon bit her lips, containing the anger in her stomach. She was unbearably upset, so she hissed in return, “He’s not father.” Seeing the sharp glare from Mom, Jiyeon sighed before saying, “…Biologically.”

Dad ignored Jiyeon completely. His body seemed perfectly fine, but Jiyeon knew how tired he was on the inside. The dry strands of hair he had and the musty suit he wore just proved how long he had been drifting in his work. He seemed like he never did have a life before. He changed the channel of the TV to a political one; his face never changed.

“I won’t change my mind,” he muttered under his breath.

“Plead if you want to, but it won’t change anything.”

Jiyeon quivered on her seat, unable to hold in the pain anymore. She did everything she could and she tried doing everything possible. Maybe to Dad, getting the best student award in school still was not enough for Jiyeon to prove herself.

Jiyeon glanced to Mom, trying to earn help. Her eyes pleaded for support, but Mom could only sigh and look down. After she took the last sip of her remaining coffee, she bluntly placed the mug into Jiyeon’s grasp, motioning her to leave.

Jiyeon remained baffled on the couch, her eyes moved from Dad and to Mom. Both of them did nothing, giving only more pain to Jiyeon’s heart. She stood, halfheartedly, and stepped into the kitchen. With the cold tap water running through her slender fingers, Jiyeon watched it mixing with her crystal drops of tears.

“Fine,” she whispered, standing straight on her feet. “I’ll run away.”

It was late past midnight and Jiyeon still had trouble sleeping. She kept tossing and turning on the thin mattress, her hands were hugging the duvet on top of her close to her body to keep herself warm. She caught a glimpse on the table clock and she sighed.

3.04 am

The time was running out. The night was getting colder. As Jiyeon decided to toss for the last time, she heard ruffling sounds from IU, who happened to sleep on the bed beside her.

“Jiyeon…? What’s wrong?” asked IU, lifting her head up to see what Jiyeon was doing.

Jiyeon sighed and stared at the ceiling. “I’ve been thinking.” IU rose from her bed, sitting straight.

“Thinking about what?” she asked, eyes filled with half tiredness and half curiosity.

“Thinking about myself. My future. My dream. My Mom.”

IU stared at Jiyeon from afar, watching in sorrow. Jiyeon had gone through a lot, ever since she decided to run away. It had been two months since Jiyeon left the house, and she left with only a few notes of cash and clothes. She decided to keep her phone , so that she could tell Mom that she was okay. However, ironically, Mom never did call her. Jiyeon felt nothing then except for being absorbed in total disappointment.

“You know you are forever welcomed to stay at my house,” said IU, trying to reassure Jiyeon that things were fine.

Jiyeon shook her head in return. “No, Jieun. I have to find a job.”

IU raised an eyebrow. “A job? Why do you need a job?” Jiyeon sighed again. “I can’t keep living under your care, IU. I don’t want to be a burden to your Mom anymore. Besides, I have not enough cash with me. I need to enter your academy as soon as I can. If I am going to pursue my dream, it has to be now.”

The conversation brought in silence. A few minutes later, IU finally suggested, “I have a great job for you!”

Jiyeon was stunned. “You do? What job?”

IU chuckled instead, and fell back onto her bed to sleep. “You’ll see. I promise to tell you tomorrow. Good night!”

Jiyeon, on the other hand, had her eyes widened. “…What job?”

“You want me to work…as a maid?” asked Jiyeon, raising an eyebrow. IU nodded in cheerful way, as if it was the best idea ever.

“…Seriously?” asked Jiyeon again and IU still nodded. “O…kay. To whom do I work for?”

IU clapped her hands in awe. “To my boss, Lee Changsun!”

“Lee…Changsun?” muttered Jiyeon, still speechless. “Yes, Lee Changsun. But you can call him Lee Joon. I work for him.”

Jiyeon was more than surprised. “Is there something about you that I still didn’t know? Since when do you work for him? And what do you do? Are you a maid too?”

IU shook her head instantly. “Oh, nope! I didn’t tell my Mom about this job, so I trust that you can keep this a secret, okay. First, I work as part-time cooker. Meaning, I will rush to his house every morning and cook him breakfast. Then, I will go straight to school. In the evening, I will go to his house again and cook him dinner. Then, I will go straight home. Are you with me so far?”

Speechless, Jiyeon bluntly nodded. IU clapped her hands again. “Okay, good! Second, I work for him since a year ago. You might want to ask me how I managed to work for him. The answer is, I bumped into his mother one evening, and his mother happens to be the rich Madame Lee who lived in Gangnam. She hired me to be Lee Joon’s maid so that I could keep an eye of her ‘neglected’ son. I met Joon later on, so I agreed to be ONLY a part-time cooker. The idea of being a maid is far off the topic. At first Joon was against the idea of me being his mother’s ‘eyes and ears’ but then well, life was unfair and his mother was a cash devil so he had no choice but to deal with it. I received a good payment every month, and so was Joon for being good and tamed. The money I received was enough for me to pay the over-the-top academy’s school fees. Okay, the end,” explained IU, finally being able to take a deep breath.

Jiyeon’s jaw slightly dropped, so IU helped by closing Jiyeon’s mouth. “Actually, it’s a good thing that I found this job. I can help my Mom by paying the house bills. Plus, Joon is not precise at eating food, but he does have an ignorant attitude that I have to deal with. Nevertheless, I think I can manage that.”

Jiyeon gulped. “So you’re suggesting that… I have to work for him, as a maid?” she asked. IU took a long time to answer, and finally, she did. “You said you wanted money, right? I already talked to Joon this morning. Now, I’m still waiting for his call to confirm about you. I assure you, the payment would be double from mine.”

Jiyeon groaned, and IU patted her shoulder to calm her down. “Jiyeonnie, I know you’re not used to do a work like this but you have to try, right? And don’t worry, you can still meet me every morning and evening. Trust me, if Joon ever laid his hands on you, he’ll have to go through me.”

IU was smiling brightly and seeing her determination in helping Jiyeon made Jiyeon cried. She laughed along with IU and hugged her in return. “Thank you, Jieun. I don’t know what I’ll do without you.”

“Go Jiyeon! You will be a great singer, someday. I know it. Fighting!”

Suddenly, IU’s phone rang. She immediately picked it up, and her eyes brightened up.

“Hello? Joon? Yes, it’s me, Jieun. Jiyeon passed? She can start working in two days? Oh, I’ll tell her right away! Thank you!” Hearing what IU said made Jiyeon felt like tearing up in joy. Finally, God had answered her prayers. Maybe this would lead to a new beginning.

Before IU hang up the call, she handed the phone near to Jiyeon’s mouth. “Jiyeon, say thank you to your boss-to-be!”

Jiyeon chuckled in return, and said it out loud, “Thank you, dear boss-to-be! Thank you!”

IU laughed along and ended the call. Jiyeon hugged her best friend, and cried on her shoulder. Maybe this was what people call best friends. They helped each other…through thick and thin.

(flashback)

The sun was shining bright and Joon woke up in a freshen mood. He walked down the stairs in a fast pace, excited to enjoy his breakfast. He rushed to dining table, and met up if IU who was busy preparing the dishes.

“Good morning, Joon,” greeted IU and Joon bluntly replied, “Morning.” IU made a proud smile when Joon took a seat and began eating. Joon did not talk much to IU, probably because of the annoying idea about IU being his mother’s ‘eyes and ears’. Even though IU never told his mother about his bad doings, the idea was still lame. Until now, Joon still did not feel like getting close to IU, all because of that stupid plan.

It took a while before Joon noticed that someone was watching him. He looked up, only to see IU’s nervous stare. “What?”

Hearing Joon’s question, IU immediately took a seat at the dining table, which surprised the Hell out of Joon. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Joon harshly made a remark. “Yah, just because I allowed you to speak informally to me, that doesn’t mean you are allowed to just sit like that. It’s rude, you know.”

However, IU ignored him. Oh, great. “Please, listen, it’s important.”

Joon stopped munching on his food and looked at the ‘too excited’ IU in front of him. What is this girl trying to tell me? He finally listened. “Okay, shoot.”

IU took a deep breath before whispering. “You need a maid, right?”

Joon choked on his own saliva. That’s it? You’re being far too excited to ask such a ridiculous question, Jieun!

“Me? Need a maid? Yes, I do. But how did you know about that?” Joon saw IU made this -I-am-totally-busted look as she cleared .

Joon eyed her suspiciously. “You were listening to my phone call with Mir yesterday, weren’t you?” His question made IU nervously chuckled. “Anyway! It’s true, right? You need a maid, right? I have the perfect girl for you,” she said and again, Joon chocked.

“You gotta be joking.” Joon glared, but IU ignored it. “Nope. I am dead serious.”

Joon raised both of his eyebrows. IU seemed really . . . determined. Yet, she seemed like she was about to eat Joon alive if he said no. “Does this have anything to do with my mother?”

IU instantly shook her head. She knew Joon would ask this anyway. “No, this had nothing to do with your mother.”

Joon hesitantly stood from his chair, to avoid IU. “I don’t know. I’ll think about it.” As he was about to head upstairs, IU stopped him and handed him a thin file. “What is this?” asked Joon as he eyed the file in a curious manner.

IU smiled in return. “This would be the personal file of your maid-to-be.”

Joon raised an eyebrow instead. “I never said anything about approving your friend to work for me.”

IU pretended as if she heard nothing. She immediately placed the file in Joon’s hand and beamed. “Take a look at her profile, and please be a bit understanding. I’ll wait for your call to confirm about this, okay. I’m going to school now. Bye!” she said as she headed downstairs with her backpack.

Joon was left baffled; his eyes were as big as the size of golf balls. He ended up scoffing in the end, saying, “What a girl.”

As soon as he entered his room, he felt like throwing the file away. He did not like to rush things. Plus, he was not yet ready to have a maid. He admitted that he told Mir about wanting to hire a maid but that was clearly not the main point here. Joon said so because he was tired of cleaning the house, but that did not mean he could not manage it.

Joon sat on the bed, still looking at the file. Damn, the curiosity is killing him. Who’s the girl? How old is she? Is she old? Is she young? Joon ended up groaning while snatching the file nearer to him.

As he opened it, the first photo left him dumbfounded.

Is this a maid or a fallen angel?

This girl is a maid? How can a maid be this pretty?

When he flipped the photo, he could see IU’s handwriting, which revealed the girl’s name. Park Jiyeon.

There were only three photos of Jiyeon and Joon was mesmerized in staring at them one by one. After a while, Joon looked up and saw the reflection of his face in front of the mirror. Then he noticed that he had this idiotic smile on his face, as if he was falling in love.

Aish you stupid Lee Joon. Why are you smiling? She is just a maid!

As he tried to act cool again, his eyes caught sight of a bright-colored memo inside the transparent file. He took it, and saw IU’s long message.

Full name: Park Jiyeon

Birth year: 1994

Identification number: xxx

Phone number: xxx

She is still a high school student, but she needs help to earn money. She is a neglected child, like you. But she needs help more than you can ever think of. If you let her work for you, she can use the money to enter the art academy with me and maybe, she can pursue her dream like the one she wished for ever since she was a kid. I can’t think of other people to help her aside from you. Can you please think about it? You can give her a month working trial, just to see if she is perfect for your liking. I know you can help her. Whatever you wish to decide, please tell me through a phone call. I’ll wait for it. Thanks.

Sincerely, Jieun.

Joon had hard time thinking. First, he almost choked to death when he realized how young Jiyeon was. Heck, she was five years younger than he was! Second, he wondered how Jiyeon would be like. Was she really suffering? Was she really neglected like he was? Could IU be trusted?

'Think about it, Lee Joon. Where can you find a pretty maid like this one? She can take care of you and where can this girl find a perfect guy like you?' he thought to himself.

Instantly, Joon scratched his head with a groan escaping his mouth. Is this for real? I'm falling in love with this girl? Just by looking at her photos? She. Is. Just. A. Maid.

Nevertheless, he had to admit one thing.

He was in love with her already.

Then he shrugged. “’Perfect for my liking’? I like her already.”

Staring at Jiyeon’s photo, Joon knew the exact thing to do. He smiled in a teasing way, but then he laughed.

“Park Jiyeon, you’re mine.”

Then he stopped laughing, looking at Jiyeon’s photo again.

“Let’s see how long you can keep up with a boss like me.”

f i n