invisible

Chapter Three

Honda Hitomi walked along the hallway at the second floor with a stack of clean towels in her hands. There were doors with numbers on her left and right. The light switched on automatically as she passed by. It was her idea to install the lights with movement sensors. It was a good way to conserve energy, and also money. She reached the last room at the end of the hallway. It was the only door that was open. Light was beaming out from the room in the dim space. She entered the room.

“These are the last ones, stack them up,” she said to another person in the room.

That person was standing in the room filled with white towels.

“Thank goodness, now I can finally go to bed,” she replied as she took the towels from Hitomi and put them on the shelves with other towels.

“It’s tiring but we did a good job, Yena unnie. We’re fully booked for tonight,” said Hitomi, patting her back.

They both smiled at each other proudly as they had a great day for their business. The two girls are best friends, Honda Hitomi and Choi Yena, who opened Duck & Bread Guest House at a building in Chungmuro Street. The three-storey lot used to be a printing factory but they put together their money and bought it in an auction to turn it into something more profitable.

Yena went to her room to sleep, leaving Hitomi for the night shift. They rotate their shifts but most of the time, it was Hitomi who worked extra hours to keep their business running.

They are friends but their personalities are nothing alike. Hitomi is more calm and reserved while Yena is loud and humorous in her own way. But they ended up as business partners anyway.

Hitomi went downstairs to tend the counter and to prepare for another day of business. That was when she was greeted by an unexpected sight.

There was someone sleeping on the sofa.

Hitomi grabbed a baseball bat hidden behind the counter and tiptoed towards the sleeping person. She clutched the bat tightly, just in case she had to use it on the uninvited guest. As she was getting closer, she noticed that the stranger was a young woman. Her hair was in disarray, and the colour was unappealing, it was light color, a bit pink or reddish. She was wearing black leather jacket that looks expensive. Hitomi believed it was stolen. Her legs were exposed since she was wearing a short skirt. There were scratch marks and bruises all over her skin. Hitomi also noticed a pair of sneakers on the floor, covered with the mixture of dirt and mud. Judging from what she was wearing, she could be a homeless person trying to get a free lodging.

Hitomi cleared , “Excuse me, you can’t sleep here.”

The girl suddenly opened her eyes and their eyes met. Hitomi gulped. They looked at each other for a while, not saying anything. Hitomi was prepared to swing her bat in the worst case scenario.

“Miss, you can’t sleep here,” she repeated, firm.

This time, the girl rose up and sat on the sofa, but her eyes were fixed on Hitomi. She seemed more surprised than she was.

“Yo-You can see me?” she asked.

Hitomi nodded, “Of course…”

“You can really see me?!”

“Yes…”

“Tell me what I’m wearing right now! Prove to me that you can see me!”

“Urm, you are wearing a black jacket and a… skirt?”

“Wh-What color is my hair?!”

“Brown? Red? I think…”

The girl continued to stare at her and this time there were tears in her eyes.

Hitomi felt uncomfortable with her gaze and looked away, “Why did you ask? You still can’t sleep here-

She paused when she felt a pair of arms around her shoulders, followed by the unpleasant smell from the other person. She smells like sweat and dirty drain and maybe she stepped on dog poo too.

“Uhh…”

“YOU CAN SEE ME! YOU CAN SEE ME!”

“Okay, I do, but please…” Hitomi said, slowly releasing herself from the other person’s smelly embrace.

She was staring at her with unwavering gaze.

“You can see me…” she mumbled.

“For the first time in the whole day, you’re the only one who could see me. Apart from the crazy dog,” she added.

Hitomi raised her eyebrows and gulped. Not only was this girl homeless, but she was mentally ill as well.

“You have no idea what I’ve been through the whole day! My heels broke and I had to take the bus! The taxi drivers didn’t even stop for me!”

“I had to steal the sneakers and this jacket to keep warm! And you know what, those promoters at Banila Co. didn’t do their job well! I’m endorsing the product for god’s sake! But they ignored me!”

Okay, not only is she homeless and mentally ill, she’s also delusional.

“And then I saw my girlfriend with my best friend together! They were talking about having dinner without me! They don’t look worried that I’ve been missing for more than 24 hours! How could they! Yujin didn’t even call me! And all I get from Minjoo was hello!”

Hitomi kept mum.

“And those idiots on the streets just walked through me as if I didn’t exist! I even thought of suicide but I couldn’t do it!”

Add suicidal to the list.

“And then that crazy dog was the one who could see me! I was chased down the alleys before I got here! And then you-

She paused.

“You’re the only human that I know for the last 24 hours who could see me. Who I can talk to…”

Hitomi nodded, “O-kay, so you’re saying that you’re the Banila Co. endorsement model, Kim Chaewon?”

“YES!! Finally someone who recognizes me!”

“And you’re invisible?”

“Yeah…”

Hitomi cleared , “First of all, you’re not Kim Chaewon.”

“What-

“There is no way a big-headed diva like her would run around alleys wearing stolen jacket and sneakers.”

“Hey-

“And secondly, you’re not invisible. That’s why I can see you, and that dog chased you.”

“But I am the real Kim Chaewon! Look at me, and you will see the resemblance. I know I have no makeup right now but it can’t be that different! You’ve seen my face on Banila’s billboard, right? And I’ll have my major role in a drama soon!”

Hitomi sighed, “Fine, even if you’re Kim Chaewon, you still have to leave. You can’t sleep on our sofa like this. The other guests will run away if they saw you. I can’t let you stay.”

Chaewon grabbed Hitomi’s hand, startling the latter.

“You can’t ask me to leave! I have nowhere to go!”

Hitomi bit her lip, “Th-That is not my problem.”

“Then give me a room! I’ll pay you!” she said, opening her purse. She took out a platinum credit card and shoved it at Hitomi.

Hitomi looked at the card, shocked, “Did you steal this too?”

“Hey bread face.”

“B-Bread face?”

“I’ll pay you any amount you want if you let me stay here tonight!”

“Really?” she asked, tempted.

“Platinum MasterCards don’t lie,” Chaewon replied, flat.