“Siyeon!” I looked up from my desk as my business partner skipped into my office. “So, how’s it goin’?” 

 

“It’s...eh.” I shrugged, closing my laptop, since as long as Minji was here, I knew I wouldn’t get anything done. “What’s up?” 

 

“Just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood!” She spun around happily. “Thanks for moving here, I really couldn’t move...not with Handong finishing her residency, and Yoohyeon’s steady gigs at the pub.” She pouted. 

 

“Yeah, you know, it’s pretty easy when you’re single and have literally no one.” I sighed, not wanting to hear about Minji’s two girlfriends, when I couldn’t even find one. 

 

“Hey! This is a college town, you know. Cute girls everywhere. That’s how I got Dongie and Yoo.” She skipped up to my desk. “You know, you should walk around! Go visit some local shops, and-” 

 

“I did.” I hummed as the cutie from the cafe popped into my head. “But...aren’t they too young?” 

 

“They’re legal.” Minji shrugged. I narrowed my eyes at her in concern. “It’s not even that bad! Dongie and I only have a two year , and Yoo and I have a three year gap, but that’s barely even a gap when you consider what other sugar mommies do.” 

 

“You met them when you were twenty-four, but you’re telling me to hook up with a college girl now?” I raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m twenty-six, Minji. The oldest college student is still four years younger than me.” 

 

“So?” Minji shrugged. “s are exciting.” 

 

“I…” I sighed, giving up. Besides, I was still entertaining the idea of visiting the cafe that Bora worked at again tomorrow, maybe finding out more about her. She was cute, but she was also pretty well-built. Plus, her coworker mentioned that she was single, and it sounded like she had an interest in women. 

 

“You’re thinking about something.” Minji purred, leaning over my desk to be eye-level with me. “What happened?” 

 

“Nothing.” I leaned back in my chair. 

 

“No. You…” She narrowed her eyes in thought, then a wide smile took over her features. “You met someone! You said you visited some local shops and walked around. You met a girl. You met a girl!” 

 

“Dammit.” I groaned, burying my face in my hands.

 

“Ooh, tell me who. I can ask my baby Yoo if she knows her. I can totally set you two up!” Minji squealed happily. “You won’t be all sulky and bothered anymore!” 

 

“I don’t think I should.” I sighed. “She’s too young- she wouldn’t even date me if I paid her.” 

 

“I mean…” Minji strutted around my desk, now standing in front of me. She sat on my desk, and crossed her legs. “You can try.” 

 

“I…” 

 

“Listen. Yoo and I started off as purely a sugar mommy and sugar baby. I’d text her, ask her to come over, and we’d have and cuddle and I’d pay her for being mine. I didn’t know, and I didn’t care, if she had feelings for me or not.” She pouted. “But then I started to feel things, and I asked her if she wanted to make our relationship a little less of a... financial thing, and more of an emotional thing. And she cried. A lot.” She smiled brightly again. “Because she wanted that, but she was too afraid to ask. She didn’t wanna lose me.”

 

“Your point is?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“My point is! You can start by paying her, but it can become something more.” Minji winked. “And then you could end up with two gorgeous women by your side, and you’ll wake up and one of them is sleeping on top of you because she’s tired from working so hard and the other one will be making breakfast-” She sighed. “And you’ll have to wake up your poor tired girlfriend in order to get up and stop the baby girlfriend from burning down the apartment.” 

 

“You speak from personal experience.” I chuckled. 

 

“Yes.” She pouted. “Yoohyeon tries, she really does, but...oh, I love her so much, but that girl can’t cook.” 

 

“But...suppose I did decide to go through with this whole… ‘here’s some money, now cuddle with me’ thing.” Minji choked on a laugh she tried to hold back. “Okay, what?” I groaned.

 

“Yeah. ‘Here’s some money, now cuddle with me’. As if you don’t want anything else.” She grinned. “I think you mean ‘be my personal sla-” I jumped up from my chair, and clapped my hand over . 

 

“Maybe I want that. But I’m not gonna scare her.” I growled, then slowly let my hand fall from . She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Anyway. If I were to go through with attempting to make her my sugar baby-” 

 

“You should!” Minji squealed. “Let’s go to the cafe right now.” She hopped off my desk, but I grabbed her wrist to stop her. 

 

“If. I. Were. To try this.” I spoke sternly. She whined like a child, and hopped back on my desk. It was hard to believe that this girl would (apparently) top not one, but two girls at once...and those girls swore that Minji was some kind of monster of a top. ‘Ruthless,’ they’d call her. Even if I saw it, I’d never believe it. “What if she says ‘no’?” 

 

“Siyeon, you’re acting like a baby.” She pouted, as if I was the unreasonable one. “Just go for it. You’ve got plenty of money, like...if she says ‘I wouldn’t go down on you for a thousand dollars’ you can just whip out your card and be like ‘how about ten thousand?’ and she’ll even take your pants off for you.” Minji hummed, checking her nails. Which also begged the question: how did she have such gorgeous nails if she’s supposed to be a top? Wouldn’t those hurt…? “Earth to Siyeon.” She snapped her fingers in front of my face. “I know, my nails are great, but come on, let’s focus on getting your girl.” 

 

“Shut up.” I grumbled. “I don’t wanna force her to do anything she doesn’t want to. If she wouldn’t do it for a couple dollars, I don’t wanna shove money down until she does.” 

 

“Because no sane person would go down on you for free.” Minji laughed.

 

“I mean, yeah.” I shrugged. 

 

“Are you crazy? Siyeon, you’re kinda hot. I’m sure she’d go down on you for free. The money’s just to keep her around.” Minji patted my shoulder. 

 

“I…” I sighed. “Anyways. If she says ‘no’, what then?” 

 

“Then you find another college girl that catches your eye.” She shrugged, as if there were at least ten Boras  scattered throughout town. “Listen. I just want the best for you. You’ve been so down on yourself ever since I met you.” She explained, sensing my displeasure. “If you don’t do anything, she’ll just get herself a girlfriend. Based on how you’re acting, she’s pretty, yeah?” I nodded. “She won’t be available for long, then. I’m not saying that you drop the ‘sugar mommy’ bomb on her right away. Just...make it obvious that you’re interested. Ask her on a date or something.” 

 

“But what if she-” 

 

“No, no. No ‘but’s. Just go for it. If all else fails, then use your money.” Minji waved me off. “Go.” As much as I hated to admit it, Minji’s advice was...not horrible. Not bad at all. If she flat-out wasn’t interested in me, I’d take my loss. But if she was just busy, I could pay her to make up for the time she’d lose from school or work. Then, I’d know if she was just trying to be polite, or if she’s interested in me. Hopefully, she’d just agree to go on a date with me. 

 

However, I still had work to do. “After work.” I waved her off. “I’ll give it a shot.” 

 

“If she gets a girl between now and when you leave this building, you can’t blame me. You can only blame your workaholic .” She sighed, and hopped off my desk. “Always a pleasure to conduct business with you, Miss Siyeon.” 

 

“We didn’t even talk business.” I groaned. “Besides, what did you even come up here for?” 

 

“Like I said! I wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood.” She hummed happily. “Did you think I wanted something else?” 

 

“I thought we were actually going to talk business, but that’s my fault.” 

 

“You act like I never-” Her phone rang, and she immediately stopped to pick it up; it was one of her girlfriends. They each had their own ringtone in her phone, whereas everyone else in her phone was the same one. This one, I learned, was Handong. “Yes, baby?” She spoke sweetly. “Ah! You’re getting done early today?!” She squealed. “I’ll pick you up!” She waved bye to me quickly, then ran into the elevator and frantically pressed the buttons to go down. “It’s no problem, darling, no!” I heard her exclaim as the doors closed. I chuckled, looked through the paperwork to check for mistakes, and responded to questions from my employees. 

 

Time flew by as I responded to questions that just kept coming. My secretary kept bringing me more and more financial documents to be signed off on, and I had to arrange a couple of formal meetings. By the time I finished my work, my secretary was long gone. I checked the clock: it was ten-thirty at night. The pretty girl at the cafe probably wouldn’t be there anymore. If she was, I’d have to speak with her boss about overworking her. 

 

I decided that I’d pack my things and head home for the night. I waved good-bye to the security guards as I left the building, and entered the car park. I hopped in my car and began the short, but lonely drive home. There were hardly any people out this late; not surprising, considering that it was a weeknight. The streets were dimly lit by cute little lampposts. I’d love to take a girl on a date around here. There were so many little specialty shops, ice cream parlors, and karaoke bars. It was the perfect place. I sighed to myself as I pulled up to my house; the apartments were mostly populated by college kids, and I’d never get a decent night’s sleep if I lived there. At least the house had a fenced backyard, so I could entertain the idea of getting a dog to keep me company. I unlocked the door, greeted by...nothingness. No living thing, except for maybe a spider or ant out of my sight, even cared that I arrived safely. I didn’t even have a plant to my name. Boxes were piled up by the door; I had barely unpacked anything. Only my office was furnished so far. Even then, it was just a desk, lamp, and computer. There was nothing to look at...anywhere. The house didn’t look lived-in at all. At least in an apartment, there wasn’t so much empty space. Here, empty space was everywhere. It was too lonely. 

 

I headed straight for the shower, hoping that the warm water would wash away some of my loneliness. I hopped in without removing my makeup - I’d just wash my face multiple times to make up for the skipped step. As the warm water dripped down my skin, I let my thoughts travel back to that pretty young lady at the cafe. Bora. She was cute beyond words: just a short little thing. Her body seemed pretty well sculpted, though. Maybe she was an athlete? Or maybe she just took pride in keeping her body in shape? Maybe she was a model or a dancer...although, I’m sure I would have seen her before if she was a model. She was too beautiful to ignore. I ran my fingers through my wet hair, detangling it. I’d have to go by the same cafe again tomorrow, or maybe then I’d seem too clingy and creepy? I don’t even know if she was working there tomorrow, nor did I have any clue as to what her hours were. Maybe she was working overtime today; that might not even have been her normal shift. I couldn’t just walk in, not see her, and walk out. Surely a coworker of hers would notice and tell her. The more I thought about it, the more I realized...I could actually use a bit of Minji’s help. The thought filled me with despair. Especially since I knew specifically who Minji would send to help. 

 

I went straight to my office after getting ready in the morning. I had my normal makeup on, and wore a fitted black suit jacket with cropped pants and heels. I arrived in my office, and asked my secretary for an iced americano. While she prepared it, I took a deep breath and called Minji. She should be in her office by now, but I could never be sure. When she didn’t pick up, I called her cell. She wanted us to be friends, since we were close in age. I couldn’t deny her back then; my dad needed me to cooperate in order to make sure our investment would go smoothly. Of course, she picked up her cell.

 

“Siyeon! What’s up?” Minji’s cheerful voice rang through the phone. 

 

“I called your office phone. You didn’t pick up.” I sighed.

 

“Oh, sorry, I’m not at my office yet! I got a little distracted this morning…” She hummed. I pretended I didn’t hear the last part, and continued our conversation as professionally as I could.

 

“You should really be at your office.” 

 

“Oh, shut up. What’d you want, anyway? You never call me.” 

 

“I...was thinking…” I grit my teeth. “I need your help with Bora.” 

 

“Oh hell yes!” She squeaked. I heard her call for Yoohyeon, telling her to get some clothes on. “We’ll be at your office in a few minutes!” She hung up. I resisted the urge to bash my skull in on my desk while my secretary came into my office with the iced americano I asked for. I thanked her with a forced smile, and took a sip. It tasted good, but...it wasn’t the same as when Bora made it. There was something about it that was just...lacking. I sighed, setting it down on my desk. I may as well get through some work before surrendering to Minji and Yoohyeon’s chaos. 

 

After signing off and reading through a few documents, Minji burst into my room, dragging a sleepy Yoohyeon behind her. I chuckled at the sight of poor little Yoohyeon, with messy hair and a bare face, dressed in a hoodie and sweatpants. She was still half-asleep, and the little skin that was visible was littered with hickies and bite marks. I tried my best to ignore it and focus on Minji. 

 

“Yoohyeonnie here is pretty well-known on campus.” She patted her sleepy girlfriend’s back proudly. “Bora will probably fall for her at first, but when she finds out that this hottie is taken, she’ll try and see if this babe knows any other babes! Specifically, single babes. And that’s when my angel’s gonna show her your face. Then, bam!” She clapped loudly, startling her girlfriend, who decided to sit on the ground next to Minji, instead of standing. She leaned her head on her girlfriend’s thigh, and loosely wrapped an arm around her legs, snuggling them. I had a hard time believing that Yoohyeon was a college heart-throb, but then again, I had never seen her without Minji. 

 

“I’m not trying to make a move on her yet. I just wanna get an idea of what her hours are, so I know when to stop by if I want to see her.” I clarified. Minji’s face fell, while Yoohyeon began to fall asleep. 

 

“Lame. Someone’s gonna flirt with her and take her quick, and then you’re gonna be left single. As always.” She crossed her arms and sighed. “But fine, if that’s how you wanna do it, fine. Don’t blame me or Yoohyeonnie if she gets scooped up before we get her hours.” 

 

“‘We’?” I asked. 

 

“We may as well make a date out of it.” She shrugged. “We can mess with her a bit, too. We can all go in pairs, but different pairs, and we can make her think we’re in a big cheating ring!” She started laughing, and rubbed her nearly-asleep girlfriend’s head affectionately. “I gotta let Dongie know! She’s probably gonna be all ‘Oh, that’s not nice,’ but I’m sure we can convince her. It’ll be fun!” 

 

“Don’t involve me in this. Just get her hours.” I pleaded.

 

“We won’t!” Minji groaned, giving me a reassuring smile. There was a loud thump as Yoohyeon hit the ground; her head slipped from Minji’s leg and her upper body met the floor. “Oh dear.” Minji cooed, kneeling down and holding her tall girlfriend in her arms. “Wake up, baby. Wakey, wakey?” Yoohyeon slowly stood up with a yawn, and Minji was right by her side. “We’re gonna go to my office, but we’ll get Bora’s hours for you! I promise!” She cheered, and skipped out of my office, pulling a stumbling, sleepy Yoohyeon behind her. I went back to my work, taking a sip of my iced americano. It still lacked that...thing. I couldn’t describe it. It tasted the same, but it felt different.

 

 I nearly worked through lunch; but I decided to pay a visit to that cafe again. Maybe Bora would be there. Maybe I could have an iced americano from her, and it would have that...quality to it that I liked. Without a second thought, I left the building and hopped in my car. I drove to the cafe and walked in, not seeing Bora. I tried to hide my disappointment, and went to the counter to order. 

 

“Ah, it’s you!” The woman grinned. She was also at the cafe yesterday, but she wasn’t Bora. She wasn’t as striking and heart-stopping as the younger woman. She wasn’t as bright and cute as Bora. Not to say that she wasn’t attractive; not at all. She was gorgeous. Bora just had...something about her. Like the iced americano she made me. I couldn’t put a finger on it, but it was real, and it was special, and I liked it a lot. “Bora’s in the back. If you wait a couple minutes, she can take your order if you want.” 

 

“O-Oh, uhm…” I felt my face heat up. I sternly reminded myself in my mind that I owned one of the biggest fashion brands in the world, and that I had faced far more intimidating things than this. “I’d like that.” 

 

“Just take a seat anywhere, and she’ll be right with you.” She smiled. “Unless you feel like standing.” 

 

“Thank you.” I hummed, and sat at a table close to the wall, much farther from the counter than where I sat yesterday. If I wanted to try to get to know Bora better, hopefully well enough to know how to win her heart, I needed her to myself for a little bit. Away from her coworker, who might embarrass her. I scrolled through my messages, responding to texts from my dad, asking how the business was going and asking if I’ve been getting enough sleep. I responded to my mom, who asked me if I was eating healthy, and asking me not to skip meals no matter how busy I got. I let a smile cross my face as I answered them. A notification popped up, telling me that I had a text from Minji. I was about to open it when I noticed a figure approaching me from the corner of my eye. I set my phone down politely, and turned it so the screen faced the table. 

 

“Hello, again!” Bora grinned. “How are you?” She asked with flushed cheeks. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she had less makeup on than yesterday. She looked a little sleepy, and seemed a bit stressed, too. I wanted nothing more than to take her back home with me and wipe her makeup off, then tuck her into bed for a nap. Maybe something else popped into my mind when I noticed the top two buttons of her top weren’t done, but my intentions were mostly pure.

 

“I’m doing well, and yourself?” I hummed, putting on my most casual attitude. On the inside, however, I was nervously inspecting her body language, making sure she wasn’t uncomfortable, and making sure I wasn’t scaring her off. 

 

“I’m a little tired from school, but I’m doing good.” She smiled. That explained the messier appearance. The poor girl was probably up doing her homework, or partying...I surely hope it wasn’t the latter. “What’ll you have?” 

 

“An iced americano and a cinnamon roll.” I hummed.

 

“Same as yesterday?” She asked, writing it down on a notepad. I was a little surprised that she’d remember my order. Maybe I held a semi-special place in her mind? It was probably the fifty dollar tip I gave her, but I’d like to pretend there was more to it than that.

 

“Yes, please.” 

 

“And are you having it here or to go?” 

 

“Here.” I smiled gently, watching her shakily jot something down on her notepad. I hope I didn’t seem creepy to her. Granted, I was an older woman checking her out, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

 

“Okay, I’ll bring it to you in a few minutes.” She scurried back behind the counter adorably. I chuckled to myself, then opened my phone to see what Minji sent me as the cafe’s door opened, and I heard a familiar voice. 

 

“Oh, Minji, there’s S-” I heard Minji shush Yoohyeon, and I watched from the corner of my eye as they approached the counter. I sighed. Great. I looked at the text Minji sent me. She said she’d be at the cafe soon, and she’d start trying to figure out Bora’s hours. I sent her a text telling her to leave Bora to me today, and to see if they could get any information out of Bora’s coworker today. It felt like I was running some sort of undercover operation. Minji and Yoohyeon took their seat in my line of sight; a couple of tables in front of me. Minji immediately began texting on her phone, while Yoohyeon politely covered as she tried not to laugh. I rolled my eyes, and looked at my phone, waiting for Minji’s text to arrive. 

 

“Here you go.” Bora’s voice snapped me out of my pain, and I looked up to smile at her. I set my phone face down on the table again, and she set the tray down in front of me with a smile. “If you need anything just let me know.” 

 

“I need to pay you, don’t I?” I chuckled. 

 

“No, it’s on me. As thanks for yesterday.” She blushed shyly. “I really appreciated it, and I wish I could do more to thank you, but…” I felt my heart pound hard against my chest, practically jumping out of my chest with each beat. I itched to wrap my arms around her and squeeze her as tight as I could, but there’s no way that would go well. I almost told her that she could thank me by going on a date with me, but I held my tongue. 

 

“Nonsense. It’s the same as yesterday, right? So...ten should cover it?” I hummed, taking a ten dollar bill out of my wallet, and handed it to her. She took it from me gently, unsure. It was cute.

 

“I said I’d cover it…” She pouted a little. I almost let her cover it, just so she didn’t feel like a burden. Almost. 

 

“And keep the change, please, dear.” I spoke as sweetly as I could. 

 

“How can I repay you?” She asked, looking at me with those beautiful bright brown eyes of hers. 

 

“You can give me your number.” I startled myself; the words didn’t even...I didn’t even think. I just blurted it out without thinking. “Sorry, sorry, I was joking.” I apologized, seeing the startled look on her face. I made a mental note that I should probably bash my head into my office desk when I get back to work.

 

“O-Oh, you were?” Her face fell. 

 

“I mean, unless you wanted to? I don’t want to be repaid, I just want to help you out a bit, but if you wanted…” I hummed, my confidence returning. 

 

“Yeah, I, uh…” She took out her notepad and wrote down her number, then handed me the paper with shaky fingers. She was so cute. So damn cute. “Here, uh...my handwriting isn’t too messy, is it?” 

 

“You have beautiful handwriting.” I let my eyes trace over the numbers. 

 

“Thank you...uhmm...can I...know your name? So I know who’s texting me…?” She asked nervously, fiddling with her fingers. 

 

“Yes, of course! I’m sorry I never told you. I’m Siyeon.” I responded, keeping my family name out of the conversation for now. I didn’t want to give her little heart any more problems. I had startled her enough for one day. 

 

“Thank you, Siyeon. For everything.” She smiled. “If you text me, just let me know it’s you, please?” 

 

“When I text you, I will. And thank you for serving me.” 

 

“No problem.” She fiddled with her fingers awkwardly. I found it adorable. I wanted to take those hands in mine and kiss each and every little finger. “I’ll leave you to eat, then.” 

 

“Thank you, dear.” I waved good-bye to her as she shuffled back behind the counter. She was way too cute for her own good...I needed her. I picked up my phone again, and looked at the text spam Minji and Yoohyeon sent me. I took a few bites out of the cinnamon roll, then had a sip of the iced americano. It had that...thing again. I smiled, swallowing it. It just...felt good.