“Welcome to Chuckie’s Chicken Restaurant!”

Macy greeted the customers who stepped inside the children’s restaurant she’s been working at for the last year. She’s very happy that at last, she’ll be hanging her yellow cap, red and white striped shirt and dirty white apron on her last day of work since she just graduated from college and is about to take her licensure examination to be a bona fide nurse.

Last year, she couldn’t even envision herself graduating after her father cut ties with her even though she helped him with all the needs of his new family after her mother went to another country. The last she heard from her mom was that she was in Reykjavik, Iceland. She didn’t even know why her mom left her dad but it’s not like her father was a great man. Macy can’t even count how many times her father cheated and quite frankly she doesn’t care anymore because he never even bothered to tend to his own daughter—his own flesh and blood he instead decided to get married again.

Macy will never forgive her father for marrying Janice, her step monster—as she would call that woman. She’d never even once tried to act nice but whenever her father’s around she is so sweet Macy would feel like she’ll get indigestion.

Oh, and let’s not forget to mention Macy’s evil step sister, Hanna who vows to destroy Macy after accidentally burning her favorite dress when she was ironing it.   

As you can see, Macy’s home life is a total and utter disaster. When her father saw her defending herself against her step mother who was about to slap her, he got really mad and decided to chase her out of their house and decidedly told her that he doesn’t need an ingrate for a daughter.

From that moment on, Macy ultimately told herself that she will never come back to that household because she doesn’t want to associate herself with people who would eventually hurt her. How dare her father called her an ingrate when all he does every single day is to go to the local bar, drink, smoke and gamble as well. He would always ask her for  money and if she can’t give him the amount he was asking for, he would go ballistic and insult her for being stupid.

Her father never once even told her that he loved her. He’d never once tried to reach out to her, and not once has he ever taken care of her when she was sick. She’d never complained about it, she was just so happy that she was a family even though she was always mistreated.

“Miss, we’re ready to order!”

Macy grabbed her flip pad and began to take down the orders of her first costumer on her last night of work.

“Young Master…”

Stefan was still in dreamland when he heard a soft voice calling out to him. He slowly opened his eyes to look at his bedside clock. The digital numbers changed from seven twenty-nine to seven thirty. A groan escaped from his lips as he reluctantly sat up from his bed only to be greeted by his personal assistant, Mr. Harold Dennison.

“Good Morning, Young Master.” He greeted Stefan with a friendly smile—his eyes wrinkled and droopy and he had this friendly look upon him.

“Good Morning…” He greeted him as well. “What are those for?” he asked pointing at the two tailored suits in front of him, being held by two maids.

“Young Master, did you forget that it’s you first day of work? You have to choose one so you can wear it for today.”

Stefan sighed as he nodded. He took the first suit from the maid without even thinking and he hung it on the rack inside his walk in closet before going inside the bathroom.

As water cascaded down his body, he closed his eyes and thought of the things that he really wanted to do. He remembered holding a guitar for the first time when he was ten. It felt so real…so natural that he fell in love with that instrument in an instant. Since his father never approved of him learning the guitar and pushed him to play the piano like all the other rich kids in their village, he would often sneak out in the middle of the night and head to an empty shed near their rose garden and pull out his grandfather’s old guitar and play all night long. It was a risky thing to do; he loved the thrill of it.

There were multiple times that he was almost caught but his love for playing the instrument is very passionate. When he was fifteen, he discovered the best band he’d ever heard: The Beatles. He would listen to it on repeat while riding the car all the way to his school and he still won’t get enough of their music. His classmates found it weird that he listens to old music but he doesn’t really care what they think of him. He knew that they judged him anyway but no one really had the courage to walk up to him because of who he was and what his family is capable of.

Sometimes, being a Van Camp is both a blessing and a curse.

He opened his eyes and wiped his face with the palm of his hand. He wondered why his father decided to give him the job as an operational manager of one of their hospitals—they have ten in Korea and several internationally—he felt like he doesn’t deserve to be there but what can he do, right? It’s not like he can disobey his father’s command. It’s either Adrien Van Camp’s way or the high way. In this household, no one if allowed to say anything about his father’s decisions because he could careless for all the mindless peons he calls family. That’s what Stefan feels like in front of his father…a mindless peon who would do as he was told and like it.

He looked down at his feet, wondering where they would take him ten years from now.

“Lana, thanks for taking me in, I’ll just be here a month tops until I find the cheapest studio apartment here in Seoul.” Macy said as she plopped down the bean couch in her best friend’s apartment.

“Sheesh, it’s nothing really, you could stay here for all your life for all I care.” Lana plopped on the other side and grabbed a fistful of popcorn and shoved it inside .  “Just as long as you help me pay the rent, the electricity, and of course, the internet.”

Macy hugged her friend tightly. “Thanks Lana, I knew I could count on you. You’re like the sister I never had.”

Lana snorted as she shifted in her seat and swatted Macy away from her. “Oh please, you have a sister.” He paused tying her hair in a messy pony tail. “Remember Hanna?”

Macy raised an eyebrow. “You call that person my sister?” She grabbed some popcorn and ate it. “Please, she’s more of a slave driver—just like her mother.”

Lana giggled, nodding in agreement. “Seriously, that girl has some mental issues she needs to get checked out.”

“That is so true; the mental institution needs her, pronto.” Macy condescended.

“But at least your dad’s there, he’s probably worried.” Lana said lightly.

“He’s worried about the money he gambles…not about me.” Macy retorted. Lana nodded. She and Lana had been best friends since kindergarten alongside their best guy friend, Gregory, who is also a new nurse like Macy and Lana. Without them, Macy would never know who to run to whenever she needed a shoulder to cry on and vice versa.

There was a sudden knock on the door and Lana took the liberty to open it. “Greggy! My main man!” Lana placed Gregory in a head lock and gave him a noogie.
 

“Ow!” Greg howled. He tried to push Lana away but to no avail, she kept on rubbing her knuckles at the top of the poor young man’s head. “Macy stop this psycho!” he said. Macy just giggled, watching her friends like this makes her feel so much better about her life. She just feels so lucky to know there are people who love her.

As things settled down, they talked about their upcoming training at the Van Camp General Hospital before their big licensure examination eight weeks from today.

“I can’t wait to see Sara Van Camp at the hospital!” Gregory said as he threw his fist in the air acting triumphant. Lana rolled her eyes.

“You really have mental issues you sick freak.” She paused throwing him a snappy, sarcastic sidelong glance. “Do you really expect that girl to be in the hospital?”

“Well, it’s still a plausible idea.” He turned to Macy for support. “Right Macy?”

Macy hollowed her cheeks. “Well, I think you’re just a tinsy bit delusional Greggy.”

“Wow, you girls are mean.” He snorted as he opened his beer and chugged at it. “All I want is to meet her, like you girls would like to meet you precious Super Junior Oppas.” He said.

“Please, meeting SJ is like the best dream ever, unlike meeting some wannabe designer.” Lana said.

Greg raised both hands in defeat. “Woah, there big girl, no need to go all psycho on me again.” He chuckled.

“Greg, don’t go all out on Lana today. You know how she can get.” Macy said, winking at Gregory. Lana looked at Macy with a weird out expression. “What?” Macy asked.

“You’re supposed to be on my side.” Lana pouted. Then, without further ado, she chugged at her cold hard beer.

“Lana, you drink like a man.” Macy and Greg said in unison. Lana finished her beer in one go and wiped her lips with the back of her hand.

“Not the first time you guys told me that.” She replied as she opened another can. “Plus, this is the last time we’ll ever get to do this because on Wednesday, it will be hell since we’re starting training at the Van Dump hospital.”

“Van CAMP.” Macy corrected as she opened her can of beer as well. “C-A-M-P. Camp.”

Gregory chuckled. “Lana is pissed drunk.”

“Whatever…Van Camp…Van Dump…Van Schump. We all need to wipe their butts anyway!” Lana paused as she raised her drink up in the air. “To our first day as nurse trainees! Cheers!”

Macy raised her can up and so did Gregory. “Cheers!”

That Wednesday morning, Stefan was inside his office. He hates this kind of environment because not only does he hate wearing a suit but he hates seeing people suffer in hospital. It just depresses him so much. He’d been busy signing papers and editing out his presentation. He looked at the clock and decided to go get something to eat before continuing with his work. As he walked down the hallways of the hospital, female nurses and other female doctors gushed whilst he saw some icy stares and glares from male doctors—like he cares about them anyway. Let them stare and judge him.

“Sorry coming through!”

He heard a voice and as he turned around he saw someone, a woman running with four boxes stacked cradling in her arms. He barely had time to react because the person was running so fast that in a lightning speed, he saw the girl tripping and the boxes she was holding spewed out of her arms and landed on the floor. He felt his knees buckle as the girl collided with him he closed his eyes and felt his back hit the floor. In that instant, he felt something pressing on his lips. His eyes opened wide and he saw the girl on top of him, her lips were on his. He closed his eyes once again and felt the girl squirm around his arms that’s when he realized what he was doing and pushed the girl away from him and stood up fastidiously. The girl seemed frazzled as well as she stood up looking at him with a sour expression on her face. He looked at her an recognized that she is a nurse here, her read her name plate: Macy Bernardson.

Before he could speak, he felt a stinging sensation on his cheek. He looked at the girl as he placed a hand on his swollen cheek. This girl just slapped the living day lights out of him.

“Just what do you think you’re doing Mister?” that nurse, Macy asked. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand. “You’re dead meat!” Without another word, He felt Macy’s fist on his jaw as he stumbled down the floor.

“Nurse Bernardson, just what do you think you’re doing?”

Macy turned around and saw head nurse, Felicity Lou with an angry expression. Macy felt like she was under a microscope with all these people staring at her. “I was just…” she began to speak so she can explain herself when Head Nurse Lou boomed.

“Why in the hell did you punch our Mr. Van Camp?!”

That’s when the blood drained from Macy’s face. She looked at Head Nurse Lou then turned to the person she punched with wide eyes and shocked expression.

What the hell did I just do?

End of the 1^st Chapter

So, what do you guys think? Leave your comments below and thanks for reading! Look forward to the next chapter!