Bold - English

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I found myself awakening today with a great sense of dread. It felt as if a giant weight was strapped unto my chest as I found it extremely difficult to get up from my bed. I lied in the middle of the white silky sheets, unable to breathe as the dread was suffocating me from the inside. I could feel the liquid inside my chest flowing into my lungs, choking me from the inside and depriving me of proper air. It was perplexing this feeling that I had, especially since I remember what happened the previous night.

I remember being overjoyed at the news that I was going to have a job interview. I was so happy that I cooked up a meal for me and Chewy and even tucked her into bed last night. I remember being the one who covered her in the blanket and stayed up all night, telling her stories 'til she could finally sleep. I told her that I was getting a job opportunity and that I was so happy I could finally utilize my skills and knowledge. I talked about how I grew up liking medicine just like my father and my dream of becoming a successful doctor like him. I went on and on that I didn't even notice that Chewy had already fallen asleep. I chuckled at the thought that my stories could have possibly bored her to sleep, but at least she was asleep nevertheless. I made sure to lift the blanket up, ensuring that her whole body was wrapped warm before heading off to my room. I slept well that night, thinking of how confused Chewy's face looked like while I was sharing my stories. She looked completely lost.

Chewy... it then hit me right there. It pained me to realize it, but I had to. I was afraid of leaving Chewy alone.

I wasn't ready to leave her be alone inside this house, especially with what happened last time with my cousin. I don't think she would last a whole day without me here, she couldn't even prepare her own food. What if she gets hungry and I wasn't here to feed her? What if she gets lonely and decides to leave? The idea of locking her up doesn't exactly ride well with me because I know she is a person. She is a scared young woman, not an animal. I didn't want to resort to bringing someone over as I know it wouldn't work. I didn't trust anyone enough to take care of Chewy as they don't know how to. Not even Felix could do it and I don't even trust him that much, but I admit I was in a rush that day that I didn't think before calling him over. Now I was running out of options.

If only I could stay here with her all day so she wouldn't have to be alone, but I had very little options in my hands. I promised my dad I would look for a job and if I don't get moving, he would surely suspect something and Chewy was the last thing that I wanted him to find out about. He was always very strict with the girls that I went out with back in my school days. If they didn't pass his standards, they weren't welcome. Knowing him, he always favored women that were just like my mom. Intelligent, sophisticated, exquisite taste, career driven but also knows how to take care of a family. If he found out about Chewy, he would surely force me to kick her out and send her as far away from me as possible.

I prop my hands on the sheets of my bed and force myself up, fighting against the weight that was on my chest. It felt like an endless battle, but I was able to sit myself up on my bed. I sat up feeling dazed, my head was spinning and felt like it was trying to drag me back down. I stared blankly at whatever was in front of me, trying to shake off the feeling, to no avail. I was in no condition to do the interview. I felt like surrendering to the pain in my head and fall back down to my soft pillows when my phone suddenly vibrated. I groaned as I turned to see who was messaging me at 6 in the morning when the sun was barely up. I couldn't read the notification from my place so I groaned even louder and reached for my phone. I squinted my eyes to adjust to the blinding light of my screen that made my headache even worse, but my eyes somehow found a way to widen when I realized that it was my dad.

'Morning Jun,

I heard you're having an interview today. Well of course I was the one who set it up for you.
Anyway, I know how hard it is to find a job which is why I asked my friend to help you out.
I hope you'll like her, and the place as well. It shouldn't be a problem for a man with expertise like you.

Goodluck,
Appa'

What does he mean by "like her AND the place as well"? Is he setting me up or something?

Whatever it was he meant, one thing's for sure is that he wants me to get a job and that message was the nail in the coffin that I had to go out and find one.

I drop my phone to my side and force myself up from my bed, nearly falling over from the drowsiness in my head. I check my time: 6:15, Chewy must still be asleep, I don't want to wake her so I force my legs to take me to the shower. I strip off my clothes, feeling the cold air wrap my lean body making me shiver, but I try my best to ignore the pain and march my way into the glass cubicle. I reach for the handle and count to three before turning it on the side.

1...

2...

3...

The water was freezing cold. I nearly screamed from the ice cold water that attacked my body. I force my numb hands to wash up my body, shivering from the absolutely mortifying temperature of the water. As I washed myself, I heard a thumping noise coming from the door to my room, I turn off the shower head to hear what it was, but it was nothing. I scrunched my eyebrows up at the weird occurrence and redirect my attention to the shower handle, dreading the moment I would have to turn it on again. As I finished washing myself, I stepped out of the cubicle to dry up and get into my clothes. As I reached for my towel, I heard the thumping noise again, startling me and causing me to slip inside the cubicle. My flat buttocks hitting the cold floor. I groaned in pain as I forced myself to stand up. The thumping repeated itself again, this time accompanied by a muffled voice.

"Jun..." I heard the voice call. My head immediately snapped towards the direction of the voice as I tried to make out who it was, but the door prevented me from doing so.

*thump* *thump* "Jun..." the voice called again, this time it was clear enough for me to make out.

"Chewy..." I yelped. I panicked as I snatched my towel. I hurried as much as possible to get to the door, wiping myself as I marched through the freezing air. I finally make it to the door and open it as quickly as possible, nearly hitting myself in the face.

"Chewy!" I called. I saw her standing there with her arms wrapped around a pillow that was pressed against her stomach. She looked really distressed as her hair was all over the place.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked her worriedly. She immediately looked flustered as I asked her that question. Her cheeks burned red and her eyes wandered all over the place, unable to make eye contact with me. She looked very uneasy.

"What's wrong?" I asked. Chewy immediately stopped her head and slowly turned it to look at me, except her eyes weren't fixed on mine, they were fixated on my body. My eyes immediately followed suit and realized that I my entire body was exposed to her, with nothing but a towel to cover my man zone. My cheeks immediately turned red and before I knew it, I was just as flustered as she was.

"O-Oh, uhm. S-Sorry...wait" I stuttered and closed the door behind me. I grabbed my trousers and a white shirt and slipped into them as fast as I can. I opened up the door again and saw Chewy half-awake in my doorway.

"What's wrong?" I asked her again. She only groaned as she ran her hand across her face.

"Can't sleep?" I asked her. It was still too early in the morning and she still had enough time to go back to sleep. In fact, I hope she just sleeps before I leave until I come back. It will be like I never left. She groaned and shook her head, her eyes were still closed.

"Well come on I'll bring you back to your room. It's still early, you should go back to sleep" I told her and grabbed her arm to her back to her room.

"Hungry..." she mumbled in my ear. I stopped in my tracks and immediately looked at her.

"You're hungry? You want me to make you food?" I asked her. She forced open her eyes. She was clearly sleep deprived as I could it in the strain in her eyes. They were red and sloppy as if she had been up all night. But underneath all the strain, I could see that look. They looked like they were begging, begging me not to leave. Begging me to stay the whole day and take care of her. It only made my mind even messier than it already was.

"Mhmm" she nodded with that begging look in her eyes.

"Okay" I immediately comply to her wishes and rushed down to the kitchen as fast as I can. As I was halfway down the stairs however, I was cut off by her voice once again.

"Jun..." she groaned. I stopped running and turned around immediately. Her voice was like a remote, controlling me everytime it went into use. I could see that she could barely walk properly as she was wobbling side to side. She had very little energy to carry her own body. I already knew what to do. Without hesitation, I wrapped my right arm around her shoulders and held her left arm, allowing her to slightly lean on me as I assisted her down the stairs.

"What are you even doing up this early? I should set a curfew for you" I told her, receiving another groan in response as I set her down on the table. It was still relatively early, the sun was just starting to rise which means it was still dim enough for me to need to turn the lights on. I arrived at the kitchen and made her a bowl of oatmeal as I needed the extra time to prepare more food. If I was going to leave her alone, I was going to have to make this place as comfortable and convenient as it can be for her.

I served her the bowl of oatmeal but noticed that she was in no condition to eat it herself. She could barely open her eyes or even lift her hands, she was completely sapped of her energy. I groaned as I sat down in front of her, not because I didn't want to feed her, but because I was worried as heck as to why she was like this. She looks like she didn't sleep at all. Her eyes were forming bags underneath them, she looked horrible and it only made it harder for me to leave her. I inhaled deeply and exhaled, deciding that I needed to relax myself and take time feeding her. I figured I could rush everything else later.

I grabbed a spoonful of oatmeal and hovered it in front of her face.

"Open up" I awkwardly said, feeling unsure of my actions. I've never really done this in front of her as I always try to make her eat by herself as much as possible. I didn't know how I was going to feed her considering the fact that Chewy barely eats anything and doesn't like to follow much of what I say.

But to my surprise, she immediately opened up as she stared at the food. My eyes widened in shock that she was actually going to eat it. I stayed frozen for a while with my mouth slightly agape til I noticed Chewy's eyes look up to mine signaling that I was being an idiot for too long. I slowly pushed the spoon into with my eyes widened the entire time. Her eyes moved to the floor as I fed her the oatmeal, as if she couldn't look at me while I did it. To be honest, I felt it too, it was kind of awkward but somehow fulfilling.

I pulled the spoon out of and fed her another one after a minute or two. I didn't realize that I secretly longed for this kind of interaction. From the moment I saw Felix feeding her, I felt jealous. Now that I was the one doing it, it was actually pretty awkward, but I somehow felt a sense of fulfillment while doing it. She still couldn't look at me while I fed her, keeping her eyes on the floor while I fed her spoon after spoon.

Pretty soon I realized that the sun was already up and it snapped me out of my thoughts. I checked my phone, it was 7:30. I had been feeding her for nearly an hour. I mentally cursed myself at how I could be so careless and immediately headed to the kitchen, taking the half empty bowl of oatmeal as Chewy ran out of appetite. I immediately started thinking of what to prepare for her lunch, snacks and even dinner as I'm not sure what time I would be able to make it back. I immediately started working on the food the moment my mind came up with something.

A few minutes later...

I button up the second to the last button of my polo shirt and observed myself on the mirror. White polo, black slacks, leather shoes. I look partially ready for my interview except for my hair, but I decided to leave it as it was fine on its own. I checked my watch this time: 8:30. I'd have to leave in a while now. I decided to use my remaining time to think about what I was going to do. Am I really ready for this? I don't even know what could happen out there. Am I really going to leave Chewy behind? Maybe... maybe I should just stay. Maybe this whole interview thing is just a scam? I mean it just sounds too good to be true. How did they even get my number? The woman in the phone sounded TOO inviting. I don't think I am ready for anything at all. I grabbed my phone and decided to check my father's text.

'I know how hard it is to find a job which is why I asked my friend to help you out.'

'It shouldn't be a problem for a man with expertise like you.'

My father seemed more confident in me that I am in myself. As I read the message, I suddenly felt a tinge of guilt inside of me. My father wasn't one to lie, he almost never does. Am I really going to ditch his efforts for Chewy? I mean she IS here all the time and wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. Appa's opportunity only comes once in a lifetime.

"Aghh" I groaned loudly and grabbed my bag. I headed downstairs to find Chewy and tell her about what she needs to do while I'm gone, but found nothing. She was nowhere to be found. I scratched my neck and decided to check the kitchen, nothing, just the food I prepared. I tried checking the bathroom, she's not there. I decided to go back upstairs and check her room.

"Chewy-ah" I called as I headed up the stairs. I arrived in her room and opened the door, empty. At that point, I was worried. Where could she have gone to? Is she hiding from me? If she is, it's not cool.

"Chew-ah" I called louder. "Where are you?". I walked to the guest room that Felix slept in and still found nothing inside. My eyes widened as I felt fear strike me. Where in the world is she? She was just downstairs a minute ago.

Unless... no. She couldn't have. Did she actually?

I ran downstairs as fast as she could and headed to the front door and to my surprise, I finally found her. She was slumped with her back against the front door, sitting on the floor with her pillow in her arms. I let out a sigh of relief as I found her.

"Hey..." I said as I approached her. "What are you doing there?" I said and crouched in front of her. She wasn't looking at me, but had her eyes fixed on the floor in deep thought. She had been like this all day, I realized she could barely look at me and her actions were so lifeless to the point that she was basically dragging her tall, slim body around.

"Hey what's wrong? Are you sick?" I asked. I placed my hand on her forehead then her neck to check on her temperature. She was fine. I couldn't understand why she was acting like this, she had never been like this before.

"Hey, what's wrong? Tell me" I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder. Chewy lifted her head slightly to look at me. Her eyes staring into mine as if they were trying to tell me something, but I couldn't make it out. It took me a while to realize her position. She had her back against the wall, her actions were lifeless throughout the day. She probably didn't even sleep. It looked like she was begging me not to leave.

"Aish" I sighed and shook my head. This was truly, very hard for me to deal with right now. It was mentally exhausting. It was worse than answering a math exam. I didn't want to leave her alone, but I had no choice. What was I supposed to do? Ditch my interview and let my dad find out that I'm taking care of a homeless girl in my house? The house that he bought for me? I don't even want to imagine what could happen if it reaches that point.

"Chewy get up, please" I said in a begging tone. She didn't budge at all so I grabbed her arm and helped her stand. I sat her on the table, turning the seat to face the side before sitting her down. I kneeled in front of her and held her shoulders.

"Look, I won't be gone for too long okay. I just need to do a quick interview and that's it, I'll be back before you know it." I told her. She didn't give me a response, she only wandered her eyes around the room, trying to fix it on anything but me.

"Hey listen, no one will be around to cook for you this time. But that's why I already made you lunch and dinner" I said as I retrieved the food that I made. I placed a big bowl of porridge on the table along with some boneless chicken. I made sure to make more than enough.

"All the food that you will ever need is right here. If you get hungry, just dig in" I said and even retrieved a spoon and fork for her. She turned her head slightly to look at what I was doing, but she didn't let me catch her doing so. It was like she was mad at me; she didn't want to look at me even for a while. I felt so guilty for some reason, even though I didn't know if I did anything wrong.

"I'm sorry if I have to go okay. I wish I could stay but..." I cut myself of after thinking about my words. I don't know if I should tell her about my dad just yet. I don't think she would understand. As I stopped myself, Chewy finally looked at me as if waiting for my next words. Her eyes demanding an answer from me.

"I'll explain everything some other time. It's best you don't know for now" I said and picked up my bag from the couch. I couldn't believe out of all the things I could say, I made myself look like a jerk in front of her. I made my way to the door and stopped for a few seconds before opening it. As I stepped outside, I turned around to look at Chewy one more time. She was still staring at the floor. I sighed and finally closed the front door.

It has already been 30 minutes and I haven't found a cab yet. I have only 30 minutes to get to my destination but it looks like I won't be finding a ride anytime soon. I had already walked a considerable distance from the house, taking shelter inside a waiting shed to protect myself from the blazing heat and now it's been an hour since I've been here, alone. It feels like the day was conspiring against me for some reason. There was absolutely no people in the waiting shed and barely any cabs were passing by. I had already been worrying about Chewy since I was at a decent distance from the house. Not only was I worrying about her, but my job as well. It was absurd that no one was waiting for a cab on a hot day like this. Especially now that it was summer, I imagined people going out of their houses and going to the beach. But they were probably staying indoors with their air conditioners on full blast. It would be nice if there were only no people waiting in line, but there were no cabs as well. Where were they? Are the cab drivers staying indoors as well?

I scratched my head as shuffled left to right, helplessly waiting for a cab to ride. My entire torso was already drenched in sweat that I cringed everytime I felt a water droplet run down my body. I had the strong urge to remove my polo but then I would be arrested for public indecency. I came prepared this time with water in my bag, but it was almost out and my bladder was already full at this point. I struggled to hold in my urine that I considered peeing on the sidewalks, but I refused for the sake of my dignity. I wander how Chewy is doing at this point? Is she doing well? I hope she eats her food. I really wanted to come home as fast as possible but the day didn't seem to allow me to do so.

After waiting for god knows how long, I spotted a white shape coming in from the distance. I squinted my eyes and placed my hand over my eyebrows. I was able to make out a small car that was driving along the street. My eyes widened up when I realized that it was a cab. I was ecstatic and super relived. It was like I've been searching for water in a dessert and found a lake. I hoisted my bag over my shoulder and eagerly waited for my cab to arrive. I was too excited that I completely forgot about my bladder and my sweat. I couldn't help but smile when I saw the cab pull over and saw that it was empty. I stepped forward and reached for the handle only to find my hand swapped away by another.

"Yah! what the hell!" I exclaimed as I turned to face the person who interrupted my ride. I was surprised when I found a small woman standing right beside me. She had light brown hair and features that weren't usual for an average korean. Skin that was as pale as the moon, wide lips, big round eyes and a sharp jaw. She wore a black cardigan along with some light blue denim jeans. She was actually quite cute; she was different than most girls I've seen around here.

"Joesonghabnida, I'm kind of in a hurry right now, really sorry" she spoke in a different language.

"Sorry, what?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrow at her words.

"I have to go, I'm late for something so can you please, excuse me" she said in a rushed manner. I nearly scratched my head as I tried to make out her words. She definitely has my full attention now. However, as I processed my thoughts, I suddenly catch a glimpse of her hand inching towards the door.

"YAH!" I yelled and grabbed her cloth wrapped arm. The woman stared at me with the most absurd expression ever, her eyebrows furrowed and her eyes doubled in its size allowing me to get a full glimpse of them, they were green like the grass on a meadow. I was taken aback by them, I had never seen eyes that were this green up close, only in movies. I spaced out after staring at them that I didn't realize that the woman was struggling to let go.

"Let go of me!" she complained and yanked her arm out of my hand, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry" I said as I watched her rub her arm.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"What does it look like you jerk!" she yelled at me. I was startled by her feisty behavior.

"Look I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you okay" I said trying my best to keep calm even though she was getting on my nerves.

"I don't need your sorry" she said. I finally recognized the language that she was speaking as I spotted her opening the cab door.

"Wait!" I said and slammed the door shut.

"You speak english?" she asked me with an annoyed expression.

"Yeah why? You think I'm dumb? I graduated from Seoul University if you didn't know" I replied. She looked surprised at my fluency. In reality, I never really had any english lessons, I just picked it up from my foreign classmates in college.

"Look mister, I don't have time to learn about your life story. I have an important meeting to get to and I only have so much time left in my hands so would you please, be the gentleman you're supposed to be and move" she said and tried to shove me away but I held my ground firmly. I wasn't going to let up that easily.

"Do you know how long I wait here? I've been waiting here for more than an hour in the blazing heat and dying of thirst then you just come out of nowhere and steal my cab? You think I will just let you?" I told her.

"Is that a threat mister?" she retorted. I didn't know how to respond to her reply as I didn't want to get into any trouble. I put in all of my effort to swallow up my pride and anger to try to calm things down.

"Where are you going?" I asked her.

"None of your business" she said and hopped into the cab faster than I could realize. Before I knew it, the door was already close and the cab was already taking off. It all happened so fast.

"YAHH!" I yelled as I tried to chase after the cab. But, unfortunately, the heat had tired me out too much. I had been out here for too long and the heat was already getting to me.

"Dammit" I cursed as I tried to look for another cab, but my vision was failing me. The heat had gone up to an alarming rate and I was left alone outside, exposed to the unforgiving temperature. I was too far away from home and was too exhausted to walk back. My entire body was sweating buckets and my head felt like it was going to float off any minute. I could barely see anything from the bright light. I limped forward trying to get back to the shed, but the moment I took a step forward, my entire body collapsed under my weight. The ground was burning hot, it felt like I was being fried alive. My throat was completely dry, too dry for me to call out for help.

'That woman...' I thought.

'She's going to be in big trouble if we meet again' I thought before finally giving in to the heat.

"Be sure to watch him, I'll be back in a while" a female voice awoke me from my sleep. I tried to open my eyes, but failed to regain my vision.

"The patient's awake. Doc!" The another voice called. I groaned as the voice resonated within my head. I found myself awakening once again in a hospital bed. I sighed the moment I realized where I was, it seems that the universe never wants me to get a job. Whenever I go out to get one, something bad always happens. What did I do to deserve this? I force myself up despite the nurse's protest and find myself wearing a hospital gown.

"Where are my clothes?" I asked the nurse who went to retrieve them.

"Here, I'm sorry if we had to take them. You passed out from a heat and we needed to make sure you could breathe." The nurse said.

"Yes I know that. I'm a medicine graduate okay" I said as I fetched my clothes. Before I could change into them, the doctor suddenly arrived in the room.

"You're awake." the doctor said as he walked in.

"Yeah, can you just tell me your evaluation so I can get out of here" I said, not wanting anyomore bull to happen. I had just about enough of this day and I wanted to just go home and not care about my job.

"Well all your vitals are normal, you seem like a healthy young man as well. Just make sure to hydrate yourself often to avoid passing out" the doctor said.

"Thanks" I told him and changed into my clothes.

I stepped out of the room and found myself in the quiet hallway of a hospital. There was moderate people around but overall it wasn't too busy. I checked the time on my watch:

11:00 am

Great, just great. I was an hour late for my job interview. I had spent the entire morning waiting in the blazing heat, leaving Chewy alone in the house and passing out from a only to end up an hour late for my interview. There was no way that Ms. Son would allow me to have an interview at this point.

And it was all because of that stupid girl. Who does she think she is anyway? To just come in and ruin my life like that. She better not show her face to me anytime or I will ruin her face like she ruined my career.

As I walked around the halls, I observed my surroundings to try to figure out where I was. I ended up finding this small pamphlet on top of a desk which had the hospital's name on it.

"____ Medical Center"

THIS IS EXACTLY WHERE I NEEDED TO BE. Well what do you know maybe luck decided to give me a hand for once as I was right where I need to be. I immediately started looking around for anyone that might be Ms. Son. But will she still grant me an interview? I'm more than hour late at this point. I took a deep breath and hoped for the best.

"Excuse me" I approached a nurse who was passing by. "Do you know where Ms. Son is?" I asked.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked me.

"Yes, I'm scheduled for an interview with her today." I said, holding back the fact that I was super late.

"Ms. Son is on break right now but she'll be back in a while. Would you like to have a seat first, sir?" The nurse asked as she directed to me to a group of chairs near a small office.

"No thanks, I'm good. Thanks" I smiled politely and went on my way. As I was making my way down the hallways, I suddenly found myself colliding with a small figure.

"Ow!" I heard a husky female voice complain. I froze in place as I heard it. The voice sounded familiar, very familiar. I know I could definitely recognize it from somewhere. In fact, I think I know who it might be. I turned around to find the small woman from earlier rubbing her arm in frustration. I felt my blood boil up the moment I saw her. Her face started to turn red the moment she saw me as well. And I thought I was just starting to get lucky when I found myself in the exact hospital that my interview was taking place. I didn't know that she would be here as well, I knew it was too good to be true. What was she doing here anyway? Did she come here to make my day worse than it already was. As if the earlier encounter wasn't bad enough.

"You again!" I said as I pointed my finger at her. My heart was pounding against my chest. I feel like it could explode any moment.

"Yeah it's me. So what? Come to yell at me more?" she groaned as she stood up, rubbing her arm while doing so.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" I asked her in my native langauge. I wasn't in the mood to put up with her games.

"Why should I tell you? In fact I should ask you that question. This place seems too sophisticated for someone like you" she sassed. At that point, I finally snapped. I no longer cared about what could happen to me. If I was going to get in trouble then so be it, but I needed to give this woman a piece of my mind. She is the sole reason why my day is going to .

"Listen here you little brat" I gritted as I grabbed her by her shoulders. I felt her small body tensed up in my hands.

"I had enough of your games. You have no idea how miserable you've made me today. I had to leave someone I deeply care about alone at home, I spent an hour burning in the sun just to find a cab only for you to steal it. I passed out in the middle of the sidewalk from heat , now I'm one hour late for my job interview and it's all because of you! I don't even know who you are. What did I do to deserve this huh? Tell me!" I yelled as I stared intensely into her green eyes. They were swelled up and tense, full of intense emotions as she stared back at me. In the entire duration that I've known her, I saw that her eyes were always full of sass and were strong and confident. It says a lot about her personality, arrogant and strong headed. But this instance was different. Her eyes were a little bit softer this time, I could see a little bit of tension in them, as if she was actually scared. I got lost staring into her eyes that I didn't even realize that our faces were only inches apart. She was visibly flustered by my actions as she froze as well. We stayed staring at each other for a while before she suddenly regained her senses.

"Let go of me!" she said as she shoved my arms away.

"You think you're the only one who's having a bad day? You're not the only one who has problems in this world. Don't think that the whole world is somehow conspiring against you because maybe someone next to you is going through even worse things in their lives. Don't be quick to judge me because you don't know anything about me" she said. I was left speechless. I couldn't believe that such feistiness would come out from such a small person. Whatever her height lacked, her personality definitely made up for it. I didn't know what to say. I somehow felt bad for making her feel that way, but I was also frustrated from all the things that happened today. I decided to just let this one slide. I no longer had the energy to go toe to toe with this woman. I turned the other way and went of to the other direction. I was tired. I didn't want anymore part in this. I just wanted to go home and check on Chewy.

"AGH!" I was startled when I heard a loud bang along with a voice crying out in pain. I turned around to find the girl lying on the staircase behind me. She had somehow slipped and it looks like she landed on her arm.

"Agh..agh" she cried repeatedly. I was visibly shocked. She looked like she was in so much pain. She was holding on to her right arm that was leaning against the steps. My eyes widened in shock, I felt a surprising amount of concern for her. I immediately ran towards her to help her out.

"Are you okay what happened?!" I asked, my voice panicking.

"I..agh" she couldn't even form words as the pain was unbearable for her. I placed my hand on her right shoulder, the one that she was holding onto.

"OW!" she cried out. The pain on her face was overwhelming. If this was an act it was surely working, no one could fake this much pain. Just a few minutes ago, I felt like I wanted to ruin this girl's tiny body. But now that I actually see her in pain, I realized I was lying to myself. I didn't like seeing her in pain at all.

"Sorry" I apologized as I felt her shoulder. It was dislocated. Her arm was dislodged from the joint, I had to do something.

"Ok listen, I can fix this but you're going to have to cooperate with me okay?" I told her. She struggled to look at me as the pain was overwhelming her. She looked at me with a pained expression and nodded slowly. I grabbed her hand, intertwining my fingers with hers. Her hand was small but surprisingly warm. I slowly lifted her arm above her head. She winced in pain as I did so. I asked her to grab onto my leg in order to balance out the pain to which she complied. I then placed her arm in position, she winced everytime I did so and it scared me a little that I was nervous everytime I had to move her arm. But I had to do this.

"Ready?" I asked her. She nodded slowly which signaled me to go. I then proceeded to pop her shoulder back in place and just like that, all her pain seemed to vanish. She let out a sigh of relief after going through a rollercoaster of pain. I was relieved as well and sat beside her on the steps. I never knew helping her would make me feel like this.

"Thanks" she said.

"You can speak korean?" I asked, looking a lot like she did earlier today.

"Of course I can. I mean I live in Korea after all" she said. Even after lightening up, she's still quite sassy.

"Then why did you only speak english earlier?" I asked her.

"I'm sorry. I tend to speak english when I'm really stressed. I grew up in Canada you see and english is my first language. Why do you have trouble speaking english? You seem fluent" she asked.

"Well it's a lot harder to argue in english than korean" I chuckled and rubbed my nape causing her to laugh at my embarrassment. Her laugh was very different than her usual, husky voice. It sounded a lot higher, kind of like a little girl. I couldn't help but laugh in return.

"Hey, I'm sorry for being a . It's just I've been really stressed lately, with my job and everything" she said.

"At least you have a job, I'm still looking for one" I said.

"Oh really? Is that why you're here? Maybe I can help you out" she said. I still wasn't used to her being this nice.

"Hmmm, do you work here?" I asked her.

"Yeah, why?" she replied.

"Do you happen to know where Ms. Son's office is?" I asked her.

"Well yes I do. I can take you there if you want?" she said. I was surprised by her immediate offer.

"You know what, sure" I said. She smiled and got up but not without wincing a little bit.

"Careful, don't want that to get dislodged again" I said.

"It's ok. I can take care of this" she said as we walked across the hallway. I only realized how small she truly was. She only reached up until my chest, not even my shoulder. Nevertheless she was never afraid to stand and walk confidently with her head up high. It made me admire her confidence.

"That thing you did back there. That was impressive" she said.

"I told you I graduated from medicine" I replied.

"So you want to become a doctor?" she asked.

"Yes, just like my father" I said. We conversed as we walked down the hallways of the hospital, I didn't even realize that we had already arrived at the office.

"We're here" she smiled as she opened the door and entered with me. The office was surprisingly small but very cozy. There was a painting of a beautiful plant that greeted me moment I entered the room. There was a small leather couch on my right along with a desk. The office went on a little further as I saw another door which I presume is for check-ups.

"Why don't you take a seat" the girl said as she walked over to the desk and started arranging something. Weird, I thought. What was she doing?

"What's up?" I said as I sat on the chair across the desk.

"Huh? Oh, I'm just cleaning this don't worry" she said. 'Okayy' I thought and relaxed on the chair. I brought out my phone to check if there was anything I needed to see. Surprisingly, I got no messages or notifications whatsoever. I kind of wished that Chewy had a phone so I can keep in contact with her. But she probably doesn't even know how to use one.

"Okay..." I heard the girl say. I turned my head to the right to see her sitting comfortably on the desk.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"You said you wanted to see Ms. Son" she said.

"Y-Yes but..." At first I thought it was some joke. But then my eyes quickly widened when I realized what was happening. No way, there was no way. Was lucky seriously on my side here? This girl? That I fought with just earlier today? Is she really?

"W-Wait y-you're..." I stuttered. I was melting in front of her. I don't know how I was going to react if she was truly the one. It can't be, why? After everything that has happened, the one person I was searching for was right in front of me the whole time? and to make things worse. We didn't exactly start off in a good way. Enemies to be exact.

"Son Seungwan-imnida. But you can call me Wendy" she announced and reached out her mind. I melted in front of her. Her face showed me a sincere, bubbly smile but I felt like I was melting in her gaze. I told myself earlier that I didn't want any more bull but if there was one thing, ONE THING that was really bull, it was this moment right here. My boss, my potential boss, was right in front of me the entire time and it looks like I just ruined all my chances of getting the job. This was worse than Michael Jackson's case. If only I knew, but how in the world was I supposed to know? Maybe if fate didn't present my boss as a whiny, overly sassy woman then maybe we would've had a good start. But how was I supposed to fix that know?

"Ehem" Wendy cleared . I snapped out of my thoughts and saw that she still had her hand outstretched. I gulped and forced a smile upon my face and slowly took her hand. I was shaking and so was my hand, but I tried my best to hide it.

"You must be Lee Sangjoon, I assume?" she asked.

"Y-Yes but p-people call me J-Jun" I was a stuttering mess in front of her.

"Don't worry Jun, we're cool. You don't have to be so tense" she said as she relaxed her hands on her desk. I gulped and let out a very stupid sounding nervous laugh in response causing her to chuckle.

"U-Uhm..." I started, I struggled to form words in front of her. Earlier I was still able to throw profanities at her but now I couldn't even form a single word. It was like she was a completely different person now.

"L-Look, I-I’m really sorry for what happened earlier. I didn't mean to say all of those t-things. I didn't know who you were. Ugh... t-thank you for the o-opportunity...ma'am" I was a visible mess. Inside I was already preparing a thousand apologies for her.

"No Jun, thank you" she said as she leaned closer to me.

"W-What?" I said.

"You fixed my arm and in quick fashion too and to be honest, I was the bigger jerk here. Stop being so hard on yourself. I already forgot about what happened earlier" she assured me.

"Really so... can I still have the interview?" I took my chances and asked her.

"No" she firmly said. I knew it. I knew I had already ruined all my chances of getting the job the moment I met her. But I was still so dissapointed, the opportunity was already right in front of me. I just had to act like a jerk in front of my boss. Nice going Jun, your father is going to murder you. Not only you but Chewy as well as he is going to do it in your house and find out about her.

"You don't have to" she said. I snapped my head up at her statement. What does she mean I don't have to?

"What do you mean?"I asked.

"As a thank you for fixing my arm, I would like to give you a job as a token of my gratitude" she said and placed her hand on mine. What? No. This is too much. It can't be that easy now can't it?

"Popping someone's arm in place is not an easy thing to do. It takes lots of practice and precision and you just pulled it off flawlessly. That gives me enough reason to hire you. So will you accept?" she asked intentively

"I, don't think I can accept it that easily" I said.

"A man of honor I see. Well maybe I can at least look at your portfolio? Would that make you feel better?" she asked.

"It's good enough I guess" I said and handed her my portfolio. She opened it and started reading. I felt like I was going to die of nervousness as she browsed through.

"Well, my expectations weren't wrong" she said as she closed the folder.

"I feel like you are going to be one of our top employees here." I think I just blushed at her statement.

"So what's it gonna be?" she asked me. This was it, I had to take the chance.

"Of course I'll take it! Thank you so much ma'am" I said and shook her hand.

"Please don't call me ma'am. I don't want us to just have a boss-employee relationship" she said.

"Oh, sure" I said with an idiotic smile on my face. I was still overjoyed that I finally got my first job. After everything I've been through, all the bull. It was all worth it. Even the fights that me and Wendy had, all worth it.

"You wanna go out for coffee?" Wendy asked me. Was she already asking me out?

"Uhm. I'm not sure. I kind of, got to go home to someone" I said, unsure of myself.

"Can it wait?" Wendy asked. I slowly turned my head to look at her. She seemed so inviting. I really wanted to go home to Chewy as I've been worrying about her all this time. But... I had to make a good impression to Wendy.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt" I said.

"Good. Come on. My ride" she said.

"I thought you didn't have a car" I asked.

"Oh yeah about that. I do but my friend borrowed it earlier. Don't worry it's back now." she said. Are you kidding me? She had a car all along? So we fought over a cab for nothing?

"Hey come on" Wendy said as she was already at the front door. I silently complied as I followed the feisty girl.

It was dark now. Me and Wendy were driving across the streets on the way to my place. We ended up staying at the cafe for hours and hours, talking about whatever. She was actually really fun to talk to, she wasn't what she seemed to be at first. She was a very warm person with a good sense of humor. I enjoyed talking to her too much that I didn't realize we spent the entire day in the cafe. Now she was driving me home after she insisted on giving me a ride. She can be warm sometimes but when she insists, it was very hard to refuse.

"So earlier you said that you had to go home to someone. I didn't know you had a wife. You seem pretty young" Wendy said. My insides perked up at her statement, considering the person she was referring to.

"I-It's not a wife" I said. My mind immediately went to Chewy.

"Oh, so I had no reason to hold back then" Wendy said as she looked at me with a suggestive smile. What was she talking about? Hold back? On what? What was she trying to do?

"W-What?" I stuttered.

"Haha, just kidding. You easily fall for jokes. Are you sure you're a 1st honor?" she asked me. I swallowed a big lump in my throat as I shifted in my seat. She was a very feisty one indeed.

"Relax. I'm just messing around. Is this your house over here?" Wendy said as she pointed to the two story house around the corner.

"Thanks for the ride" I said as I waved at her while I intered my gate.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Don't be late" she smiled and closed her window and drove off. I walked towards my front door full of vigor and excitement to start the next day. I couldn't believe. Out of all people, the girl I was looking for had to be the one that I hated just earlier today and now were friends. I chuckled at how ridiculous it all was. The day was surely something else.

I walked towards the door and twisted the handle. I entered my house to find it still lit but empty.

"Hmm. Chewy must be asleep" I said to myself and closed the door. Just as I turned around, I was startled by a big weight crashing against my body. It scared me at first, but it scared me even more when I saw what it was.

"Chewy!" I said as Chewy leaned against my chest. I wrapped my arms around my waist to keep her up. Both of her eyes were closed tight.

"Chewy! Chewy wake up!"

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What happened to Chewy?

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