Shyness isn’t a weakness. If anything, it shows strength that, despite said shyness, you continue to soldier on with your fears, no matter what.

Sun Young isn’t shy. Far from it, in fact. But in some moments, her shyness is so evident that it is so hard to look away, because that same shyness allows her to seem a little less perfect, and a little more vulnerable.

Would I say that I prefer her when she’s demure? Not really. I think she rather fits the image of the overzealous girl who would return my debates with passion.

But I can’t say I don’t appreciate those moments she looks back at me, rendered speechless or if she’s being all shy and uncertain.

I keep those moments close to my heart.

“It seems that our girls are all hyped and ready for today’s mission, don’t you think so, Chen?”

“Yes they definitely are, Xiumin! I believe we’re all pumped up and ready to go- wait, where exactly are we going?”

Chanyeol watched the two hosts from the other side of the lobby. “Must be nice to be that comfortable in front of the camera,” he murmured to himself.

“You wish to be a celebrity too?”

He jumped. “Secretary Choi, what the hell- were you here this whole time?”

The woman in question gave him a deadpan look. “I’m always where you need me to be, sir.”

“Of course,” he said, shaking his head, “I hear we’re going to the orphanage today. Concierge has been with PD Kim to handle the transport and I heard they had a handful of attitude.”

“Yes PD Kim was quite…transparent with her requests,” came the reply, “Manager Han has already made the necessary arrangements.”

“Of course she has,” he agreed, “As always.”

Maybe it’s a good thing I know both mother and daughter, he thought to himself as he walked to the Reception, while glancing at the Concierge booth where the manager was chatting to some guests, both are hard workers and never fail to come through.

But then his sister’s words resurfaced in his mind, and he pressed his lips together in a thin line as he walked towards to the counter. He cleared his throat, before placing his hand on the cold surface of the desk decisively, making some of the employees jump in surprise.

They always fall for the angry director vibe.

“How are the VIP arrivals today?” he asked.

I hate using the ‘boss’ voice. It makes me feel like a fake version of my father.

But oh, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like using it sometimes.

The employee behind the counter, Front Office Manager Yong, straightened. “We have been assisting them to the Pavilion Lounge for their check-in, sir,” he said, “We are currently awaiting the arrival of two more VIP guests, as well as seven returning guests. We also suspect that we have a mystery shopper.”

Chanyeol wasn’t expecting that; he frowned. “But we’ve just had a mystery shopper last month, how is that possible?”

“I know, sir, but there was this one guest that checked in earlier, she seemed to know a lot about the processes, and even asked one of the trainees a bunch of questions that weren’t the average guest enquiries,” the manager said, “Poor Lisa. She’s only been here three months, but thankfully she was working under Park Group back in Thailand too, so she was able to address the guest’s questions as they came.”

“Good. Do we know what he looks like?”

The manager reached for a folder, glancing at it before looking up. “A Park Chaeyoung who booked directly with the hotel. She will be staying three nights with us. She’s alone, looks like a business guest.”

“Keep an eye out, let me know if anything comes up.”

“Certainly, Director Park.”

“And how are the in-house guests so far?”

“We’ve got about ten guests who wish to move to another room. The bellboys are shifting the luggage now. As for group check-ins, the Concierge has been assisting with the tourists from Singapore who are here for their incentive trip,” Manager Yong continued, “Manager Han has been assisting them and thankfully despite the number of people in their group, check-in has been swift.”

“Good. Keep it up,” Chanyeol said, “Today’s arrivals are the highest for this week, and there’s still time to screw it up, so please ensure that you give nothing but the best.”

“Yes, sir. Most certainly.”

Chanyeol nodded, and walked towards the Concierge desk, which was now empty save for Manager Han and another employee.

“Good morning, Director Park,” the manager smiled warmly.

“Morning,” he said, as Secretary Choi placed a list on the table, “This is the most recent update of our industry partners, I need you to check if their contact details have been placed in the database.”

“Yes, sir. I will get right to it.”

He nodded. “Right,” he said, “Thank you.”

“You’re most welcome, Director Park,” Manager Han said with a smile, placing the list next to her keyboard as she began to type.

He swallowed, watching her until she looked up quizzically.

“Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?”

He hadn’t realized he was staring at her face.

Truth be told, he could see where Sun Young had gotten her facial features from; their smiles were identical, and Manager Han’s voice had a warm, lilting tone to it, reminding him of the way Sun Young was to her friends.

Always so compassionate and kind.

But somehow never to me. To me, she’s so crass and blunt and it’s hard to keep up with her.

“Uh- I was just- no. I’m alright. I’ll, uh- I’m going to go.”

As he watched the Concierge Manager work, he saw how her veins popped out on the back of her hands while she typed. It reminded him of something his chef had taught him: strong hands made good, wholesome food.

He had heard of Manager Han’s talented cooking skills, and he had personally seen some of the Front Office staff praising her for some food she had given to them, and was silently hoping that one day he would be able to try her dishes.

And then a sudden thought flashed through his mind.

If, by some unfortunate of luck, I choose Sun Young, that means Manager Han will be my mother-in-law.

And what happens then? Do I give her a pay raise or promote her? Or should I not allow family members to work in the hotel anymo-

“Have a good day at the orphanage today, sir.”

He nodded. “Yes, uh, I will,” he said, stepping backwards and almost crashing into Secretary Choi in the process.

“Are you alright, sir?” she asked.

“What- of course, I’m alright, what kind of a question,” he said, straightening his blazer and clearing his throat as he made his way towards the hosts.

He could see the girls walking out towards the verandah, where two medium-sized buses were parked at.

He could even see Sun Young with the bellboys, and he pursed his lips as she watched the boys laughing at something she said.

“Does she know everyone at this hotel?” he asked, exasperation running through his veins.

“Probably not everyone,” Secretary Choi answered promptly, “I’m certain that she does not know anyone who works in the staff areas or back offices, sir. Perhaps only the Front Office department.”

He turned to her. “But she probably does know an overwhelming majority of the staff, despite not working here, am I right?”

His secretary merely stared back. “She did grow up at this hotel, sir,” she spoke, by way of justifying.

“So, everyone then,” he said, turning back to Sun Young, who was beaming and tucking her hair behind her ear while leaning towards one of the more good-looking bellboys, “How terribly convenient for her.”

Just then, a sudden thought came to him.

He took out his phone, going through his contacts until he pulled out Sun Young’s phone number. His thumb hovered over the text button, and he stared at it thoughtfully.

What if she and Ryeowook had been talking?

He wondered if was she close enough to him to know what had happened yesterday.

A part of him said no.

And yet, another part of him seemed almost certain that Ryeowook would have confided in her about the thing with Yoora.

He felt annoyance creep over him.

Creeping, creeping, creeping, like a vine that intended to choke its victim.

Gosh, Ryeowook is like an insistent mosquito, if my sister hadn’t been so protective, I would have gone over to his house and sock him right in the face.

How dare he even try to hit on my sister.

“I am going to punch that son of a-”

Secretary Choi cleared , snatching his phone out from his grasp, and it was then that he realized that he had been about to text Ryeowook; how the hell did that happened?

His head whipped to her. “Really? I’m old enough to swear-”

She passed back the phone to him, wrinkling her nose slightly. “Old enough, but you’re clearly not intelligent enough to see that this is the last place you should swear at.”

“Alright, alright, listen up!” Chen’s voice echoed in the bus as he stood at the front, “Is this thing working? Can the ladies at the back hear me?”

“Yes!”

“Excellent,” he said with a thumbs up, “Now, ladies, since you all are aware, we’ve not only had you go on physical missions, mental missions, it is time for another type of mission. Does anyone know where we are headed to today?”

“No!” the girls chorused, before they collapsed in giggles.

Kyungri pouted. “Please tell us, Chen-nim,” she said, pouting to look extra cute, which sent the girls into louder cackles of laughter at the expense at the only male passenger in the bus.

Even the driver was an ahjumma, and she was chuckling to herself too.

Chen shook his head, chuckling to himself. “See, now, this is the reason I told them not to split us into two buses,” he said, massaging his temples, “I’m being eaten alive.”

“We can’t eat you alive,” Rana drawled, running her hands over her hair and fixing him with a sultry stare, “There’s still a lot of us who won’t win this competition, so we technically will be in need of handsome men such as yourself, what do you say?”

Chen’s mouth opened, but no words came out.

“Rana the hoe strikes again!” someone yelled from the back, sending the girls into peals of laughter.

“Send help!”

Chen searched the bus for a familiar face. “Amber, do something!”

The girl in question shrugged. “Why me? What can I do? She’s not lying.”

Pink with embarrassment, he could only sigh. “Oh, my god,” he tried to continue, “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted-”

He gave Rana a look. “-we are going to see some lovely children and spend a day with them at the orphanage today!”

Amber nudged Sun Young. “To be honest with you,” she confided, “I’m not a kid person.”

“Neither am I.”

She scoffed. “Are you serious? You’re probably the type to make the kids fall in love with you or something and make them cry when you leave.”

“That’s a little over-exaggerated. I’m an only child, I don’t know the first thing I should do to bond with a kid.”

“We shall see, Sun Young. We shall see.”

“Hey, what does that mean?” she protested, laughing.

“It means, I won’t be surprised if you win tonight’s round again. You’re going to do great.”

“So will you. Maybe there’s an edgy teen somewhere, looking for someone to share their love for grunge with.”

“I highly doubt that. My Korean is pretty meh at best.”

Sun Young grinned, leaning against her friend’s shoulder as the latter looked out the window. “Who knows, it might be you who wins the roses tonight.”

“-and that is why we have split you into two buses, because we will be going to the orphanage managed by the ever-lovely Ms Bomi, and you will be paired up with a child,” Chen was explaining, “After some bonding activities with the children, we will eat together before coming back to the hotel. How does that sound?”

In the other bus, the atmosphere was bizarrely different. Where there was laughter, loud conversations, and the occasional shrieking in the first one, this bus was silent save the quite dialogues exchanged by the girls, with the faint music playing in the background.

Taeyeon sat at the front, with Xiumin, and across them sat Chanyeol.

The PD was quiet throughout the ride, and as the host went to sit down following his announcements, he reached into his little slingbag and glanced at her.

“Want some water?”

She shook her head.

He took out a chocolate bar. “Snack?”

She regarded him from the corner of her eye, and he suppressed a little smile as he opened the wrapper and bit into it.

“Don’t blame me if you get grumpy later,” he commented, making her roll her eyes and continue looking down at her clipboard.

“I highly doubt that,” she huffed, not looking up from her clipboard.

He merely smiled and continued eating, staring out the glass windscreen of the bus as it drove on the busy roads of Seoul. Cars zoomed past, and he leaned back in his chair lazily, and with every blink of his eyes, the world in front of him faded, until he was no longer sitting in the class, but in a classroom from his memory.

“Kim Minseok! Pay attention, why don’t you? Just because you skipped three grades doesn’t give you a free pass to be distracted!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Stop mocking me!”

“Most certainly.”

He was sitting at his favorite desk, the one in the last row, next to the windows overlooking the school quadrangle where the physical education classes were held. He was biting his pencil, and had been watching a petty fight happening below between the students.

Apparently a senior was fighting a junior over the fact that the latter had stolen his girlfriend.

It had been an interesting fight, too, had Mr Lee not interrupt him.

The elderly teacher was frowning at him through the glasses that were lowly perched on his nose, and Minseok realized that there was a girl he had never seen before, standing in the front of the class.

The teacher turned to her. “Unfortunately we were not notified of your arrival, and I would like to personally apologize-” here he shot Minseok a glare, “-for seating you next to the class clown. You will find him very charming, and a very bad influence, but you look like a strong girl.”

The girl smiled de