My name is Amber Liu. I’m a solo backpacker from Taiwan.

I’ve nothing much to tell, unless you want to know all about travelling, because then, I’m your girl. I also like making videos, leather jackets, and proving people wrong. Those three things give me a high, especially the last one.

My opinion about Director Park? Whoa. That’s a loaded question, what do you want to know? Anything? Hmm okay.

Let’s see.

He’s got a very nice voice. And he’s a hard worker, you can tell if you notice his hands, especially when you shake them. They’re coarse and dry and I heard he has blisters from the work he does in the hotel. Which is weird, because anyone who’s like, the highest position in a hotel tends to be in an office instead of doing the work, you know?

I like him. No, not like that. It’s too soon. But I think he has some traits of my ideal type. That’s all I’ll say for now.

The two girls trudged up the road, bags in tow. Amber was holding up a piece of tteokbokki, holding it out to Sun Young as the latter bit into the hot rice cake with a satisfying hum.

Her hands were full, one hand held a satchel of her things, while the other held a bouquet of sunflowers that Soojung had given earlier when they passed by Bloom & Blossom. Her mind was flitting to what had happened at the flower shop earlier before she gone to the hotel to pack for the trip back.

Sooyeon had been outside the shop, frowning at a bunch of flower pots – because when was she not? – and was wearing a plaid dress with flowy sleeves when Sun Young had surprised her from behind. The flower shop owner been ecstatic, opening up her arms and swallowing her up in an embrace that made Sun Young feel like a delicate piece of china.

“Sun Young, my sweet little jasmine!” she had trilled, rubbing her back affectionately as they hugged, “I feel like I haven’t seen you in years!”

She was beaming so happily. “It’s only been a couple of days, Miss Jung.”

Her boss shook her head, making her curly hair bounce. “I am too unbothered to tell you to not call me that,” Sooyeon said as she pulled back, pushing away her messily curled hair from her face. “Has it? Oh, it feels like forever. The flowers are not the same without you, they are so, so sad to not have their little sun here to tell them how beautiful they are.”

She had glanced at the flowers in the display window. “I miss them too,” she murmured, before noticing the bright yellow flowers behind the glass, “Oh, you’re having promotions on sunflowers?”

“Aren’t they beautiful? They’re on sale,” Sooyeon had told her, “Mr. Son himself came down and we had coffee next door at the cafe.”

“I thought you hated that guy?”

At that juncture, Soojung appeared, a smirk on her face. “He was hot; Unnie fell for him the minute she saw him,” she had sniggered.

“Soojung!”

The younger Jung sister threw a smug look. “And all this time she was annoyed at the man for sending us flowers to upsell,” she mused, “Next thing I know, they’re spending three hours for a meeting at the café to ‘supposedly discuss about the promotions.’”

Sooyeon gasped. “Hush, now, Soojung. Sun Young, wipe that expression off your face, don’t you start believing my sister over me.”

Sun Young had grinned. “Do you have a picture?” she had asked Soojung.

“Of course. Jongin took so many. Here.”

“Were you spying on me?”

“Duh.”

Sun Young had taken one look at her friend’s phone and gasped. For someone Sooyeon had always lamented about every day – especially when they had to deal with an oversupply of flowers to sell, such as in the case of the stargazers, Son Dongwoon looked like the lead of a hit drama. He had a boyish face, deep-set eyes, and was staring intently at Sooyeon as he held his coffee mug with both hands.

Wow. He looks entranced.

“What do you think?”

Sun Young gaped, then one look at Sooyeon’s faintly pink face. “This is the flower supplier with the hay fever who calls us every single day and sends extra flowers for us to sell? This guy?”

Soojung had nodded. “Yep.”

Sun Young grinned. “Oh my god, he’s handsome,” she breathed dramatically, “Didn’t you say he was like middle-aged? He doesn’t look a day over twenty-five.”

Sooyeon snatched the phone away from her hands. “Yes. He’s thirty.”

Her reply was instant. “Miss Jung…you’re twenty-nine.”

Sooyeon had gone to the counter where a customer was waiting for her and settled the payment without missing a heartbeat.

Waving goodbye to the customer, she turned back to Sun Young. “What are you trying to say?” she asked, tilting her head curiously.

My boss is probably one of the most innocent person on the planet.

“I think she’s telling you what I told you yesterday, unnie,” Soojung had said, holding up a bunch of sunflowers, “Time for you to tap that.”

“I don’t quite get what you mean, Soojung.”

“When’s the last time you slept with a guy, unnie?”

“Jung Soojung!”

Smiling to herself now, Sun Young chuckled softly and hugged the bouquet of sunflowers closer to her chest.

One day I’ll go back to the flower shop and return to my normal life.

Once all this ends.

Beside her, Amber was humming a song she couldn’t recognize, and Sun Young watched as her friend munched happily on the rice cakes they had bought.

Needless to say, both girls were glad that they were finally able to leave the hotel; both were tired and dying to head out for once.

Victoria had gone to the university dorm, and had promised to video call them later with Sulli, while Sun Young had invited Amber to stay over for a day or two; her friend didn’t have any prior place to stay, having been a traveller, and she didn’t want her staying at the hotel and take her chances with the chaebols either, and so, her pixie-haired friend was to be her roommate for tonight.

Unfortunately, Keumjo and Sera had been the day’s eliminated contestants. And it was the sheer fact that Sun Young wasn’t close to them that she didn’t react as badly as she did the day before when Sulli had been out. From what she knew, Sera had only two roses, and she was the one with the least amount, while Keumjo had been the last in ranking for the games earlier.

She felt bad for Kyungri, though. The two people were her friends.

It had been a tiring day, and Sun Young was glad that the elimination round had been merciful and quick; Ju Hyun and Hyun Joo had won the day’s fencing games, and both were out on a river cruise with Chanyeol.

Hmph.

Sun Young didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad one; what she did know that Ju Hyun had been ecstatic at the prospect of being with the director, and she even picked a dress that looked a little too fancy for a few hours on a boat.

Oh well. At least I didn’t get to see her simpering face when I left.

Beside her Amber was grinning as she walked. “This is fantastic, Sun Young, are you sure your mom wouldn’t mind?” she asked, probably for the tenth time.

“I’m sure. At least the house isn’t empty for the time being.”

“Sheesh. Your neighbourhood’s pretty bright, I’ve never seen streetlights this bright.”

“There were some robberies in the housing estate downtown, I think the town council didn’t want anything happening here,” Sun Young said, stopping as they reached a double-story duplex, “But well, my mom and I don’t take any chances nonetheless.”

She reached into her pocket, fishing out her keys, before proceeding to unlock the decades-old gate and opening it for her companion. “Welcome to your home for the night!” she announced, to the excitement of Amber, who rewarded her with another rice cake.

“I usually do my backpacking trips alone, so this is something new for me,” her friend said, entering and walking in between the vehicles in the packed driveway. “How many people stay here?”

Sun Young locked the gate and turned. “There’s four apartments. Two upstairs and two downstairs,” she said, pointing up, “The top right one is mine. Next door is a middle-aged couple. Their son’s married and he lives just half an hour from here.”

“And that one?”

“Downstairs we have a family of four; Mr Young’s a mechanic and I heard from my mom that his wife used to be a chaebol. She’s a teacher now; she and the kids go to the same school, so it’s convenient. Finally, their next door neighbour is our landlord who lives with his mom. They’re celebrating his late father’s birthday today, so they went to his favorite restaurant for dinner.”

Amber raised an eyebrow. “Wow. That was a great summary,” she said with a nod, before jerking her head to the downstairs apartment, where the sound of the television could be heard. “I’m taking that that house is the one with the family, since you said the landlord and his mom went out?”

“Yup. Minji and Minkyung like watching the primetime movies every night,” she said with a nod, “They’re the two kids; they’re really cute and sweet.”

“You must really know everyone.”

“We’ve been neighbours for, I don’t know, almost my whole life? I’ve been staying here forever; I can’t imagine moving out and leaving this place,” Sun Young said, “Besides, my mom goes over cos she and Mrs Young share recipes with each other a lot. Come on. Let’s head upstairs. I can’t wait to get a bath and drop into bed.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

This is going to be a very very long night, Chanyeol thought as he closed his eyes in the salty breeze of the Han River, letting the wind brush his hair as he leaned against the railing of the ferry.

His feet were aching from the whole day of standing, and his arms felt like lead in light of all the carrying and sparring; he imagined himself in his room, lying on his bed and curling up to sleep.

His lips curled into a wry smile.

Hang in there. Just a couple more hours till it’s over.

“Enjoying the view, Mr. Park?” a lilting voice interrupted his fantasy, and his smile slowly disappeared.

Chanyeol looked away from the river, turning to his companion, just barely hiding his indifference at the fact that Ju Hyun was adamant at following him like a shadow.

Yoora had been sympathetic earlier when he had called her after the afternoon filming.

“Good luck, Channie. I know it’s going to be a bit difficult-”

“Noona, a bit difficult is an understatement, I don’t like that woman.”

“You still have to maintain for the cameras, there really isn’t anything you can do. She won, fair and square.”

“Ugh.”

“You can do it, Chanyeol. And if her presence really bothers you a lot, or if she’s trying to get under your skin, just do something different. Don’t react like you always do,” she had advised, “Play her game. Be smart and turn her compliments back on her or something. That always used to work for me. And you know how hard it is to survive in the journalism world, with everyone fighting for spots as a reporter.”

He kept a sigh. Just give it a try, something inside of him urged, even if you feel like taking a cold shower after this.

“I can’t say yes to that, when you are quite a stunning vision yourself,” he said, making her simper as she pretended to slap his arm in annoyance.

It took every bit of his self-control to not cringe at himself.

HONESTLY, PARK CHANYEOL, CALM YOURSELF.

“Such a charmer, you are,” she giggled, reaching up to tuck her curls away from her bare shoulders, “Why, you must have broken many hearts in the past!”

Chanyeol gave her a lingering look, slowly nodding. “I’ve left behind a trail of them, yes,” he agreed, making sure to stare at her meaningfully.

He could see the flash of surprise pass through her eyes as she quickly composed herself.

“Don’t be so mean,” she pouted.

He gave her a smirk. “It’s not mean if it’s true,” he said with a shrug, pushing himself off the railing, walking to the other side of the boat where Hyun Joo was perched on a high stool, looking out past the river and at the city they left behind. She smiled shyly when he appeared next to her, and he could see Ju Hyun hovering behind.

Pesky little thing. She doesn’t give up, does she?

Nevertheless, he turned his attentions to the model, whose blonde hair was lightly tousled in the breeze. “You’ve been enraptured since we boarded,” he commented, prompting her to laugh in embarrassment.

“Have I?” she asked, to which he nodded, “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he said, feeling embarrassed, “Have you ever taken a river cruise before?”

She shook her head. “This is my first time,” she told him, “I thought only special people could cruise along the river, in their fancy boats and jet skis.”

‘Special people.’

That’s a nicer way of saying rich people.

“You’re from the middle class aren’t you, Hyun Joo?” Ju Hyun interrupted, making the model’s smile falter as she nodded, “You mentioned your parents work in the fish market in Busan.”

Chanyeol’s lips pressed together, watching the model nod.

“Imagine that!” Ju Hyun said airily, her blood red lips gleaming in the warm fairy lights of the cruise, “How even from the smelly markets, a beauty like you was able to flourish. What a Cinderella story!”

Hyun Joo looked down at the empty martini glass she was holding, her index finger tracing the rim of the glass as she slowly nodded.

Chanyeol began to feel uneasy; his eyebrows furrowed, but still he remained silent, unsure of how and whether to dive into this strange direction Ju Hyun was taking them.

Whatever it was, he didn’t like it.

“Who would have thought you would one day be here, hmm?” Ju Hyun continued, “Imagine, you could be at the fish market making a living-”

That’s it.

“They must be very proud,” he blurted, cutting her off.

Hyun Joo looked up, meeting his gaze and blinking slightly before blushing. “I hope so, Mr. Park,” she gushed, “I can’t go home often enough to find out.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Ju Hyun about to pounce, but he carried on talking.

“That’s a pity,” he said, “I’m sure they’re watching you whenever the show airs. I’m willing to bet on it.”

She smiled demurely. “Well, thank you very much.”

For a few seconds, there was only the sound of the waves and the jazz music that played in the background, and Chanyeol - who was miffed that Ju Hyun was trying to ruin the other girl’s image with her comments, and right in front of the cameras - simply stared at his feet, not knowing what to do.

And then, as he recognized the soft tune that played, it struck him. What better way to distract them from the awkwardness than something that he can rub Ju Hyun’s nose in?

“Would you,” he began, making both girls turn to him, “Would you like to dance, Miss Lee?”

Hyun Joo blinked, turning to Ju Hyun, then back at him. “You’re asking m-me?” she stammered, “I don’t really dance or anything.”

That’s what Sun Young said too.

And she still managed to make us both an embarrassment.

“Come on, I’ll teach you then,” he coaxed, taking the martini glass from her hand and passing it to Ju Hyun, “Hope you don’t mind helping me put that away.”

The satisfaction he derived from her shocked expression was priceless. Never had he thought he would enjoy the cruise, even with a girl he barely knew.

Where is this courage coming from? he asked himself.

I feel so liberated...almost like an adrenaline rush.

Kyungri was right. He had to be different for once, and that meant doing things he wouldn’t normally do. His sister was right too; he couldn’t simply allow himself to be a doormat.

Hyun Joo’s pale hands slipped in his own as they swayed to the upbeat retro tune, and she laughed as he tried to dance.

“I’m not good at this,” he confessed, as she laughed more.

“You’re doing fine,” she reassured back, turning to the chaebol watching them, “Join us!”

He glanced at the heiress, remembering what Kyungri was saying while they had been training on the mat.

All Ju Hyun wants is to be the center of attention and makes sure everyone is painfully aware of it; I know the feeling. And I was thinking to myself, ‘maybe you could disturb her a little bit, let her know she can’t really get to you,’ and when I kept joking around and stuff, she didn’t try to mess with me as much.

Unlike with Sun Young. That girl’s also got to change her tactics, because she tries not to bother, but it does, and I know it makes her feel even worse. I heard her cry to sleep that night, after the dinner fiasco, she must have been so embarrassed and affected.

Chanyeol extended a hand. “Are you jealous?” he teased, “Now’s not the time to sulk, Miss Seo.”

She raised one perfect eyebrow. “Jealous? You must be joking,” she said, walking towards them, “I don’t have any competition.”

And yet, despite saying those words, her eyes were too intensely focused on the model to look like she meant it.

“Ju Hyun won today,” Amber said to her phone, where Sulli was seen eating a bag of chips on her dormitory bed, “And she got to go on a river cruise with Chanyeol.”

The girl laughed. “Why am I not surprised?” she laughed, as Victoria shook her head beside her.

After the girls had showered, it felt good to just relax and hang out without the feeling that they were being secretly spied on; also, it felt good to just be within the familiar four walls again.

Sun Young chuckled. “You should have seen his face when he was congratulating her, it was so professional and you wouldn’t have thought that he had rejected her once- oh, wait, someone’s calling me,” she muttered, as her phone vibrated on the bedside table.

“Oooh, who’s that?”

She stretched her arm, reaching for her phone. “Eomma has a night shift, she hardly ever calls, hang on.”

Victoria asked, “Amber, go and see!”

Sun Young rolled her eyes. “Come on, guys, who else could it be at this time except,” she stared at the screen and paused, “Wait a minute, why is Ryeowook calling me?”

Amber