(191124 La Rouge)

No new outfits, hope our angel rejoins us soon.

#getwellsoonwendy

'Good morning Mr. Kim.'

'Morning Seulgi, tteokbboki coming right up!'

It was early in the morning, and just like ever other morning, Seulgi had gotten up just as the sun rose, to get Irene's order of tteokbokki before she went to pick up her boss. It was absolutely exhausting at first, but she had gotten used to it. The cool morning air tingled her senses, forcing her awake, and it was just nice to see the busy city when it was still asleep, roads empty. 

'Seulgi, your tteokbokki's done.'

'...'

'...'

'S-Seulgi?'

'H-huh?' The bodyguard stammered, drifting back to reality.

'Your breakfast? It's done.'

'O-oh...'

'Here you go,' Mr Kim, stretching over the counter and handing over the packed breakfast. 

'You seem out of it.' He continued. 'Anything on your mind?'

As a matter of fact, there was. 

Seulgi had recieved an email, just before she had left the house. It was from an anonymous sender, the same sender from the email she had received on her second day of work. The scheduled date that her debt was due had been moved up by two months, to today. Normally, this wouldn't be possible. Signed contracts always stated clearly the due date of a loan. However, the debt that Seulgi's father left behind was from a shark loan, not from a bank, and there were no givens. They could move up the date without any reason, any notice, and failure to pay... well there would be more serious consequences. 

Ugh...

Seulgi moaned to herself.

She had lived an honest life. Why was this happening to her?

Nonetheless, there was still Mr. Kim to deal with. And while he was a nice man, she wasn't ready to just open up her life to him.

'Just... tired.' She answered.

'Well that's natural, if you're waking up so early every morning.'

'I guess...'

'And if you're that tired, why don't you just stop buying breakfast?'

'I-... have to...'

'Surely you could buy something else? Something that doesn't require you to get up so early? I mean, what's wrong with going to a baker-'

'I-it's not my breakfast...' Seulgi sighed.

'...huh....?' Mr. Kim uttered, confused.

'It's for my boss.'

'Oh wow...'

'Remember the woman I brought here a couple days ago?'

'The really pretty one in the golden dress?'

'Yeah... that's her.'

'Wow...' The man unconsiously repeated again, bringing his hands to his hips.  

He eyebrows suddenly burrowed into a frown.

'I was making a fuss about you liking tteokbokki so much when it was actually her!'

'Yup! Don't worry she found it pretty funny.' Seulgi laughed.

A short moment of silence ensued as the laughter died down, and the two had a chance to catch their breaths.

'She seems like someone important.'

'She is.'

'She's really darned pretty too.'

Seulgi smiled. 

'She is.'

'Isn't she working you a bit too hard?'

'Well-.... I sort of volunteered to buy breakfast for her... and the pay's really good so.'

'...'

'...'

'...'

'Tough life you got there kid.'

Seulgi shrugged. 

'Just trying to make ends meet.'

'Well!' Mr. Kim said, taking a step back. 'I guess I'd better prepare for the day. And I'm sure you haven't got long to chat about right?'

Seulgi gave a sigh and a smile.

'You got that right.' 

'Don't overwork yourself eh~'

'I'll try.'

'I mean it kiddo.'

'...'

'...'

'...'

'Thanks Mr. Kim.'

Just as usual, Seulgi picked up Irene in front of her building, leaning on the bonnet of the car when she was waiting. It wasn't something she did on purpose, but it just came to her after doing it every morning. The smooth long bonnet of the car, with the steady humming of the engine, just seemed like such an appealing place to lean on. And just as usual, she greeted her boss with a smile and a bright 'Good morning Ms. Bae.' The trip to the office was normal as well. There was some causal conversation as Irene enjoyed her breakfast, and Seulgi tried to find a way to tell her that she looked pretty, without making it too obvious.

The reason she was able to do this was because it was already a routine for her. Go to the same spot at the same time, wait for a bit leaning in the same place, then drive down the same route whilst talking to the same person. And while talking to Irene wasn't at all boring, having spent so much time with her, Seulgi was able to do so without thinking much. Furthermore, there was a legitimate task at hand, which conveniently was also an excuse for her to place her thoughts elsewhere. As soon as she sat at her desk, and started to scroll through her emails, the gravity of her situation gradually started to sink in.

Your debt.

Your mountain of debt.

That technically isn't yours-

Is due. Tonight.

She tried not to think about it. She tried.

But there was no avoiding it.

She would scroll through her emails repeatedly, constantly updating the page, as if expecting something new to come in. She'd attempt to actually get some work done, but her mind would always wander off. And no ma