4 years ago…

“Ar!” Minghao yelled across the school lobby. When Arin looked up to acknowledge him, he smiled widely and waved both arms at her.

It was the first day of school after a long and agonizing summer vacation. Minghao had just arrived in Korea from China last night, and seeing him again was like a breath of fresh air for Arin.

“Look at you!” he said as he approached her, eyeing her top to bottom with a grin on his face. She was very different since he last saw her. Her uniform used to be stained and torn, her hair’s frizziness used to be out of control, her bag used to be tattered from the bottom and stained with paint, and her shoes used to be worn out and smelly. Now, her uniform was her size and perfectly clean, her bag and shoes were brand new, and some new, rich-people hair products took some frizz off her hair so she could tie it in a neat ponytail with few stray hairs sticking out.

“Well, mom got married to the rich guy I was telling you about,” Arin shrugged.

“That’s great, congratulations! So you’re rich now!”

“I guess. I can buy more Chilli things now!”

“Oh, how I missed Chilli!” Minghao said, eyes turning into stars. That’s what Arin loved most about Minghao—how he his eyes would shine so happily at the thought of things he loved, one which happened to be Chilli.

“There will be a concert next month! You’re coming with me, right?”

“Of course, wouldn’t miss it!” he told her with a wide smile on his face. His eyes then trailed farther across the lobby. “Oh look theres Hyejin!" he chimed, waving at another one of his many, many friends. "We'll catch up later, okay? See you!"

With that, he bounced along to greet someone else, leaving Arin disgruntled and wanting more of him.

She was in love with him, and she wanted this year to be the year he knew that.

-

Before the curse, Arin used to be ambitious and strong-hearted. She had dreams of becoming an idol, and maybe working with Chilli in the future, and she actually worked towards that goal. In the one year in which she and her mother had access to a lot of money, she took singing and dance classes, learned to play piano, lost weight, and was trying to convince her mother to let her have double eyelid surgery. She even studied Japanese and English.

She was the kind of person that pushed through limitations and adversity to get what she wanted and worked hard for it. Nothing was going to stand in her way. Not her single eyelids or her belly fat or her frizzy hair.

But alas, seeing people die before her very eyes has a way of weakening the spirit, and Arin’s was no exception. After everything that she had to see and endure, Arin became more reserved, more anxious, and more afraid. She dropped all of her dreams. Now, her only goal was to avoid making anyone else a victim of her curse.

But no matter how damaged a spirit, personalities don’t just disappear. Arin retained her determination but poured it all into different aspects of her life, namely, her cleaning, as well as her sense of right and wrong.

It was wrong for people’s lives to end so abruptly simply because she called their names and didn’t hate them, and it was wrong for her to create a situation where she could endanger them in that way. That’s why she remained determined into isolation and loneliness, working in terrible conditions under the worst of employers.

Hey Missy, Jeonghan had texted her one day. Come down over here at once.

A few minutes later, she was at his door, ringing the doorbell.

“Just come in!” he yelled from his living room.

Arin knew the combination which opened his door and even took her to his floor on the elevator: 10041004. He had revealed it to her because he was too lazy to open the door for her when she had to get her salary or do his laundry or scrub his floors.

She entered the combination and stepped inside, taking off her shoes at the door.

Jeonghan’s apartment, like the other 12 apartments below it, was stunning. She stepped through the door into a large, carpeted living room. The walls were adorned with glass crystals that reflected the light of the silver chandelier hanging above her. The golden elevator was to the left, and there was a large open kitchen and the door to the bedroom. One side of the wall was made entirely of windows, boasting a grand view of the surrounding city.

For Arin, however, the most dazzling thing in his apartment was the large basket of high quality chocolates with golden wrappers laid out on the coffee table for guests and tenants who came up to sign papers. Every time she entered the room, she would be captivated by it and crave to take one. However, she knew better than to ask him for one, and could never take one without asking. To Arin, Jeonghan’s chocolates were like an inaccessible treasure she could only dream of.

"That nasty tenant on the eighth floor is moving out tomorrow,” Jeonghan told her as soon as he saw her. "You have one day to make that pigsty spotless, you hear?”

“But I thought you said I would have a full week?” she replied, unconsciously beginning to pick at the skin around her nails. The thought made her extremely nervous, as preparing this apartment for a new tenant would definitely take more than a day. That apartment was a mess as the guy who had lived in it had been a complete slob who drank all day long and never cleaned after himself. Just passing by the eighth floor on the stairs made Arin want to cover her nose because it smelled like a disagreeable combination of sweat and vodka. She would have to get rid of all the furniture, replace it with the new ones stored on the roof, repaint the alcohol-stained walls, scrub everything spotless, and repair anything that was broken.

“Nope, you have one day. Less than 24 hours actually, because old guy will leave by noon, and the new guy is coming the following morning.”

“But…”

“No butts, missy. The new guy offered me a whole lot of money for rent, and I’d rather not let a single day’s worth of it go to waste because you don’t clean fast enough.”

“I understand,” she muttered under her breath. “I will clean it as best I can, but…”

“There you go with the butts again,” he rolled his eyes. “Look here missy, out of the kindness of my heart, I’ll help by moving the furniture from the roof down for you. Does that solve your problem?”

It did not solve the problem, but she dared not complain or he would retract his offer to help.

“I need this new tenant to be impressed,” he lectured. “I want him to rent here long-term. He’s paying like double what everyone else is paying so you have to make sure he runs into no inconvenience. If he does, I’ll cut your salary in half! Now leave.”

She wanted to say something, but she knew that Jeonghan would not take anything she said seriously. She turned to leave, her hatred for him flaring and her stress levels rising. There was no way she was going to be able to do a full and proper clean-up of that slum of an apartment alone in one day, even with his help. She needed more people on board.

The only person out there who she could ask for help was ~. She was embarrassed to keep asking ~ for favors, especially since ~ had already helped so much by being her supplier for the past few months since the Joshua incident. Arin also knew that ~ had a job and a life outside of her, but there was no one else for her to rely on.

Hey ~, she texted her friend. Jeonghan’s making me clean the 8th floor in less than 24 hours. It’s impossible. I need help.

Within seconds, ~ replied, okay, I’ll come by and help tomorrow.

I’m sorry that I’m dragging you into this. Jeonghan’s such a . I hate him so much.

Good, was ~’s reply. Keep it that way ;)