“You were crushing on the CEO’s daughter? Damn, Unnie. I knew you had some greasy- charm but that’s way over the top. Who knew a cheeseball like you would tap that?”

“Park Sooyoung, shut up!”

Wendy is absolutely embarrassed beyond behalf, and her face resembles nothing but a beetroot ready for consumption. It doesn't help the situation that everyone is still here since the briefing just ended; why not get a loudspeaker and announce her feelings to the world while they're at it then? She didn’t mean to blurt out her mini crush on the rich, charismatic heiress. In fact, her own friends figured it out when she had come downstairs from the room in the middle of the night. They pestered her continuously just to get some answers out of her – so technically, there was no escape for her until she opened . How could she have possibly escaped their interrogation? In any case, it’s not as if her crush isn’t obvious enough already. The way Wendy ran out of their back office to appease her and bring her food up… man, that’s more than a level above whipped.

Seulgi gently ruffles her best friend’s hair, feeling a bit of sympathy for the latter. She knows how loud and extremely inappropriate Sooyoung can be at times, regardless of where they might be. Imagine if her crush on the latter was exposed so easily… though everyone already realized it way before she did.

“No please, continue.”

All their heads turn in perfect synchronization, almost as if they’re all in a movie; the way Wendy’s arm is locked around Sooyoung's neck in a strong headlock and Seulgi trying to pry them apart from each other. It becomes even funnier when they realize who has been eavesdropping on their conversation all along.

“M-Miss Bae…”

“Hi…” Joohyun walks into the office, ignoring all the other gasps and murmurs around her. Her high heels clank against the ground rather noisily, her suit fitting around her a bit too nicely. She can’t hide the smug grin on her face when she spots the tiny cute hamster. “And hello again, Wendy.”

Wendy’s eyes don’t leave the ground for a second, feeling utterly conscious of herself when she unintentionally spots the hunger and thirst in Joohyun's eyes. She didn’t mean to check out the heiress so openly, not with everyone watching her do so at least. That kind of blatant admiration she has will be more likely to get her into trouble than help her. Speaking of admiration, it’s no wonder why Wendy found her voice so soothing and her beauty unbeatable. The person she was speaking to and trying her best to comfort for nights in a row happens to be her boss. It’s no wonder Joohyun was specifically looking for her when she first came to check-in; okay well, more like her younger sister was doing the searching but same thing anyhow. Everything might be sincere, or it could very well be for auditing purposes… it is a part of Joohyun’s job after all.

How does someone as shrewd and as cold-looking as Bae Joohyun become so overly friendly and mischievious in a blink of an eye? It’s crystal clear that she’s standing in their back office for one reason and one only. The sparks that are currently flying within their small space is crazy.

“Miss Bae… you’re looking for me?”

“That’s right. I would like to have a word with you in private, Miss Son.”

Chills immediately run-down Wendy’s spine at the rather straightforward claim, not used to being in such a position. Facing guests at the reception counter is one thing but talking to the auditor – who happens to be the daughter of their CEO – is another. It reminds her of her failure almost half a year ago; it’s a shadow that becomes increasingly bigger instead of smaller.

“Y-Yes…”

Although the others were pretty excited over Wendy’s little crush, the reason for Joohyun wanting to speak to her seems a bit ambiguous and frightening. What if she wants to tell Wendy that she shouldn’t be working in a resort? Or what if they want Wendy to be transferred somewhere else? It scares her friends immensely that the one who plays the mother role might be leaving them anytime soon. It’s not common for auditors or bosses, in fact, to see their employees individually after external auditing. The one time it was done, two front desk staff were kicked out for skiving on the job. Wendy might not be a skiver, neither is she an employee with no professionalism but her fear of facing guests when they start turning nasty is evident. Her panic when Yerim questioned her at the counter was obvious, albeit over-the-top but obvious enough anyway.

“Unnie… I don’t want Wendy-unnie to go,” Sooyoung mumbles, arms tightly holding onto Seulgi’s for support. She might be the cheekiest and the most ruthless when it comes to teasing her friends but her heart is also the softest out of them. “What if they want Wendy-unnie to go somewhere else? Or what if they’re complaining against the hotel?”

“I don’t know, Sooyoung-ah… let’s just wait and see.”

||

Wendy steps into the most expensive room in the hotel – a 72-square metre penthouse suite equipped with a semi-transparent bathroom and the most notable, beautiful rooftop access view. She knows this isn’t the room that she had allocated to them; this was the one room reserved for the auditors when they finally get to know who it is. She can still remember the panic that ran through her system when all of them took a realization to the status of their staff members today. Without one shift leader or supervisor, it’s usually manageable but they were missing two – one shift leader and one supervisor – today. Who knew they would pull through so smoothly even with the lack of staff and exceeding everyone’s expectations at that? Of course, Wendy is going to be beaming with pride. Her friends had been amazing, doing double-shifts with her and making sure all their guests are appeased from time to time.

“M-Miss Bae, what did you want to speak to me about?”

Ever since they stepped into the penthouse, the heiress hasn’t opened once and it’s putting Wendy on edge all over. Imagine talking to a guest the last night, even covering her with a blanket and writing some cheesy note only to find out she’s your boss…

“You did very well yesterday,” Joohyun compliments, taking a seat on the swivel chair. She gestures for the other to sit down, extremely tickled by how nervous Wendy looks. “Don’t worry, I didn’t call you here to demote you or something. I’m more impressed with you than anything, actually.”

Now that Wendy is in the clear, she feels herself simply sink into the soft cushion of the chair. She unexpectedly releases a huge sigh, shutting her eyes in slight exhaustion. Her double shifts were tiring enough, but having to come to the guest’s room and even converse with her for a few hours – that was the one that tired her out immensely. Let’s not forget how much sleep she didn’t manage to get because she was upstairs. It must be obvious though, because Joohyun’s sympathetic gaze becomes more and more clear the longer she stares at Wendy. The young one has dark circles surrounding her eyes and her eye bags are about to cover half her face – okay fine, that was Joohyun’s exaggeration – It doesn’t change the obvious fatigue on Wendy’s face though. As they’re currently staring at each other actually, Wendy’s eyes are about to close. 

The small smile that had initially formed on Joohyun’s lips slowly inched upwards; how does someone look that adorable and peaceful after falling asleep in front of their boss? Seeing this amount of peacefulness in the young staff member brings a kind of serenity to Joohyun as well. It allows her time to admire the person who put in more than a hundred percent to comfort her in the middle of the night?

“Maybe Yerim is right after all…. I need to move on.”

Her heart tingles when she remembers waking up with the covers tucked under her chin and a note on her bedside table – it is one of the nicest and most thoughtful things Joohyun has experienced. Granted that she does have her family, they don’t exactly have a lot of time together. Yerim still spends most of her time in the school dorm, while Joohyun, well she’s getting ready to take over some of the hotel chains. Their father is busy enough with work and juggling his own duties as a son as well, their mother is holding down the fort back home and taking care of their grandparents. It isn’t that unusual for them to be neglected from time to time, especially with powerful parents that need to pay attention to multiple hundreds of people. It’s no one’s fault that Joohyun chose to go down the wrong path for a few years, but it’s to her credit that she bounced back.

When Joohyun’s phone starts ringing, it feels as if she just snapped back to reality after a wonderful dream. A dream that certainly includes staring at a beauty sitting across her with one of the prettiest hairstyles Joohyun has ever seen. The bangs that decorate the small girl’s face? Ethereal.

“What is it, Yerim?”

“Unnie… Appa wants us to check out the restaurant setting and spa surroundings as well. We’re mainly here for work purposes, remember?”

The teasing tone in her sister’s voice almost makes Joohyun want to slap her through the phone. It’s obvious that the latter already knows what in the world is going on and yet, chooses to use cryptic words instead of being straightforward.

“I know, you brat.”

“Just wanted to remind you in case you’re thinking of spending more time there… you know, trying to win over the cutie.” Yerim giggles into the phone, stretching her legs under the huge umbrella shading herself from the scorching sun. “We both know when you’re head over heels, you tend to embarrass yourself quite a lot, Unnie…”

Joohyun hangs up the phone right after, feeling her face begin to heat up in embarrassment. She knows everything that her sister is saying is more than just true but being that direct about it? Wow, the reminder of her unpredictable behavior is completely not needed and off the hook. It’s not as if she hasn’t already embarrassed herself enough by getting drunk and having to be comforted over the phone – that will remain buried between them for as long as possible. To sum it all up in any case, it’s crystal clear that Joohyun just needs the right person to be there for her. Her ex-girlfriend had simply given her some lame excuse and packed her bag before leaving her apartment. Of course, she would be heartbroken, especially when she had no one else by her side. Getting drunk and being picked up on the roadside was unplanned and thank God for her sister’s friend who noticed her.

The amount of pain she could feel in her chest when it first happened was unreal, and it didn’t even hit her that she was single again. How could someone be that heartless and callous to cause such pain to another person?

Lifting her jacket from the bed, Joohyun approaches the sleeping figure with stealth. Another broad smile pulls at her lips when she notices Wendy mumbling incoherent words to herself, expression quickly turning into a pout. This woman is way too dangerous for her heart. Joohyun almost falls atop the latter when she trips over her own feet, thankfully landing beside the chair instead.... yet, still unlucky enough to wake her up. 

“H-Hm… Miss Bae? Miss B—OH MY GOD! Are you okay?”

Wendy all but scrambles and gets on her knees immediately, helping the embarrassed lady up. She ignores the bird nest that her hair currently resembles and straightens the crumpled suit as best as possible. It’s not every day she sees her boss on the floor in a heap.

“I’m fine…” Joohyun mumbles shyly, running her fingers through her disheveled hair. She tightens her grip on the latter’s hand as she gets up on her feet – curse these damned heels. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you up. I was just… I was just trying to cover you.”

“O-Oh…”

The two women begin looking at the ground at once, unable to meet each other’s gaze without flushing like absolute teens in love. It’s fairly adorable if one sees the kind of expressions on their faces. Wendy just wants to wrap the tiny heiress in a blanket and makes sure she’s well-protected from the world. The vulnerable gaze in Joohyun’s eyes that appear from time to time gets Wendy relentlessly. A part of her knows there’s no way they will ever be in the same league, what with their status being so different already. This is her summer job which helps to offset some of her school fees; this is probably what Joohyun will be doing for the rest of her life. Wendy can’t even foresee her doing the same thing for the heiress again, what with the whole checking in process again.  

There are too many things to consider, and the main issue would be their status difference.

Wait, what?

No.

No one even said anything about progress or a crush.

“What are you thinking of?”

Wendy looks up and catches the curious expression on Joohyun’s face, the imaginary question mark practically floating above her head. She knows she looks pretty suspicious because it’s obvious that she’s been making some expressions not appropriate.

“Um… nothing in particular!” Wendy all but screeches, her flushed cheeks unintentionally giving her away. She can’t help but get nervous at the latter’s presence either; the aura and charisma oozing out of the young lady is undeniable. “W-What else do you want to talk about?”

An unexpected pout soon draws upon Joohyun’s lips at the question posed to her; it seems as if the staff member doesn’t want to be with her in the same room any longer. This is the first time someone else is eager to leave her alone rather then spend time up to her and kissing her . Now that she's finally encountered someone whom she actually wants to stick around, that person wants the complete opposite. Not many people are given the opportunity to actually be this close to her because of her status and whatnot but here we are, in the same room and being all bashful in front of each other. If there’s anything more precious than this whole scenario, it’s the mere fact that Joohyun can’t feel any difference in the way she’s being treated ever since her identity has been revealed. Ignoring the sudden increase in respect, there truly isn't any significant exception.

“Do you want to get away from me that bad? Do we only have to talk about business now?” Joohyun doesn’t realize she’s actually whining at a stranger, her pout only growing bigger and bigger.

“No, I mean – yes! NO!” Wendy shakes her head at her own delusion; this heiress is really getting under her skin within minutes of interaction. Her effort to remain professional is obviously not working out at all. “I will do anything you want me to, Ma’am.”

Wendy’s eyes shift once she notices her boss walking closer, unconsciously taking steps back to make some space between them. She almost feels as if her neck is on the chopping block once again; this effect on her is crazy. No one has ever affected her like that before, not even her past crushes or her ex-boyfriend who claimed to have love her more than anything and got caught with someone else in her own bed. An audible gasp escapes Wendy’s lips when she feels her back hit the wall, and the pair of heels approaching her one step at a time. Her eyelids flutter erratically when she sees the smile on Joohyun’s face; this is wildly inappropriate if she still doesn't snap out of it. 

“Great…” Joohyun murmurs, her manicured nail tracing the younger woman’s defined jawline. She doesn’t hesitate to lift Wendy’s chin, yearning to have that eye contact once more. “Because I only want one thing from you, and that’s to have dinner with me tonight.”

“D-Dinner?”

Wendy finally dares to look up, wanting to seek actual confirmation if she was hearing the woman correctly. Her potential direct boss is actually asking her out for dinner together? This could be one, a fairy tale that she’s living in for the moment; two, a trick question that could very well cost her job the moment it’s over. Many auditors have been known to test their staff members by using rather unorthodox methods at times; that unfortunately includes the usage of emotions and feelings as well. 

“No, I’m not testing you. I’m really asking because you were amazing, trying to help me and all…”

This time, Joohyun takes a step back and looks at her feet, the memory of her whining into the receiver hitting her at its fullest impact. Anyone who is desperate for money will sabotage her in one way or another, and her drunken incident is a huge opportunity. They would have let the cat out of the bag the moment she appeared in the hotel and had her identity revealed – her position would be replaced at once. This woman didn’t open even when she realized the similarities between her and the drunken caller at the reception counter; that already says a lot about her thoughtfulness and consideration for others in general. Sad to say and people won’t believe it, but this is frankly the first time anyone has spared so much thought for her wellbeing and reputation.

“I don’t know if that’s allowed, Ma’am…”

Okay well, that makes perfect sense.

If the hesitation is based on the possibility of losing her job once they find out about all this, then Joohyun knows the perfect solution to that excuse of not going to dinner. This is also the first time anyone has hesitated to say yes or even agree to have a meal with her – the pressure of being one of the biggest bosses’ daughters and having the press knowing her? It’s almost as if Joohyun is in another dimension with whatever reactions she’s been receiving so far.

“Appa? Hey… um, I actually want to take Wendy Son out for dinner tonight because she tried to help me out when I was a mess and she didn’t even know I was well, your daughter yet…”

“By all means, sweetie, but…”

“I know, Appa.”

Wendy’s thoughts start to wander when she sees the knitted eyebrows Joohyun has; it’s clear that there is something her boss and her higher boss are speaking of which is a topic of importance. It also alarms her at once that she feels a sharp tinge in her heart when she sees the troubled gaze in Joohyun’s eyes. How could she possibly feel like this for someone she just met a few hours ago already? Not only does it sound unbelievable, but it also seems like the kind of relationship that’s only going to suffer when it encounters fundamental problems. If anything, it also sounds like the same kind of relationship her parents warned her several times about – the people that might drop her at anytime without second thoughts. There’s a terrible uncontrollable speed at which her feelings are developing, and it's the unstoppable force that a movie once taught her. 

Shoving her phone back into her pocket, Joohyun quickly looks up and finds the cutie starting to short-circuit. She must have taken the whole conversation wrongly, hence the reaction. Nonetheless, the adorable expression on Wendy’s face just melts Joohyun’s heart.

“So... dinner tonight, Wendy?”

“It’ll be my pleasure, Ma’am.”

The term of endearment classifies itself as way too formal for Joohyun’s liking, especially since everyone calls her that in an attempt to up to her. “You’re younger than me, am I right?” Joohyun suddenly asks, a rather smug grin making its way onto her face. Her prayers are definitely answered when she sees the short-haired beauty nodding her head timidly. This just makes things more fun from the way she can play with this in so many ways.

Wendy releases the nth gasp of the afternoon when she feels Joohyun’s breath tickling the shell of her ear this time – she was not expecting such a bold move from her.

“You can call me, Unnie, then.”

||
 

“She’s totally into you!”

“No…” Wendy groans, burying her face into the cushions beside her. she came home just to let them know that she wouldn’t be having dinner with them, not for them to take pleasure in teasing her. Her friends are a higher level than incorrigible, clearly. “She just wants to thank me because I tried to help when she was drunk.”

Seulgi just wants to slam her face against the wall at this point in time – they are best friends for more than one reason, and this happens to be one of them. Obliviousness, denial… and far too many more actually. This is one of the most obvious moments where Wendy is trying to swallow herself in delusion because of external circumstances that she has no part in changing in the least. Everyone can see for themselves that there are good feelings between the two, or maybe using a less heavy term could be more appropriate. The way in which their boss’ daughter kept her eyes on Wendy the entire time she was addressing their staff was one of the biggest tell-tale signs already. Instead of focusing more on the whole process of auditing and their progress as a hotel, the former was obviously more fixated on getting her hidden messages across to everyone (actually Wendy more so).

The frustration that Seulgi feels for her best friend is bubbling real quickly, more so because Wendy was the first one to realize her huge crush on Sooyoung but can’t seem to tell when someone is crushing on her. It unfortunately has a lot to do with Wendy’s depleting self-confidence in herself ever since she entered high school.

“She can’t possibly be into me, right? I’m just a mediocre student working my off to pay my own bills… not to mention how rich and beautiful she is while I’m just Wendy… Yeah, there's no way she could be into me.”

How could Wendy think of herself so lowly like it’s not a problem at all? They all admire the latter for her grit and determination to make a name for herself despite having the world in her hand already. If the people around her knew what an angel Wendy can be, even to the point of foolishness, they wouldn't have been such bullies to her in school. Just because she chooses not to show her true power and wealth in the presence of strangers, others take it as a weakness and not kindness. 

“Son Seungwan, you look at me!” Seulgi exclaims, her hands cupping Wendy’s face firmly. She is aware of the rather intimate position they are in, considering she’s practically straddling the younger. “Stop thinking so lowly of yourself! I know you’re amazing, and I know you can be this great person if you try to be more confident. Stop downplaying and discrediting yourself. Do you hear me?”

Wendy stares up at her best friend in shock, mouth still slightly open at the sudden display of strength. She was not expecting that in the least, not from Seulgi. They are definitely a lot closer than other friends but being in this position still makes Wendy rather embarrassed; her cheeks are burning red and her hands are so awkwardly placed by her sides, it’s laughable. If anyone were to walk in and not know their friendship with each other, it's probably safe to assume they are girlfriends or very good friends, friends that do things not too suited to that term, but that isn't the case. That’s not even going to happen in the next life, Wendy shudders at the thought of someone walking in and seeing them like this. Seeing something like this would creep Wendy out more than make her heart race, honestly. 

But wait… what if she were to be in this position with someone else? That someone else having a pretty nice fit and of a notable status, a bit of a higher status…

“Wow don’t mind me, ladies. Just trying to get a good position while I watch this rather… tempting movie. Please continue; it's going to be a blessing to my eyes.” Sooyoung smiles, crossing her legs while she plops herself on the chair opposite.

“Oh my God!”

Seulgi scrambles off Wendy at once, almost stumbling onto her face when she trips over her own feet. She can finally feel the embarras