I have discovered my greatest enemy of all times.

 

She is the biggest idiot on Earth, capable of embarrassing herself without any effort.

She deserves all the misfortune she receives, with no rights to complain about any of it.

She’s currently the top contestant on my ‘who I’d love to punch in the face’ list.

 

 

My greatest enemy’s name is Yoon Bomi, for I am my greatest enemy.

 

 

No, I didn’t mean it as some deep philosophical sh*t.

I’m too stupid for that sort of business and I know it.

What I’m saying is:

 

 

I’ve somehow managed to humiliate myself as soon as we arrived.

 

 

Yeah.

Yikes.

 

 

It happened in front of everyone, including my boss plus the entire crew of Jung Eunji’s jet-

And by ‘that’, I meant my stomach unleashed this monstrosity of a growl the second I got off the plane, silencing every living being around us.

 

I could only stand there as a spontaneous game of ‘Who can Hold in Their Laughter with the Best Straight Face?’ commenced among the crew members, with none of them having the guts to let out a squeak nor move a single muscle within their bodies.

It was only when Park Chorong- being ever so compassionate for her personal assistant- burst into a giggling fit that all of us were snapped out of it.

We blankly stared at her until she gradually calmed herself down.

 

 

“Wow, you sounded like you’ve been starved for days, Bomi-ah.” was the first thing she said upon regaining her composure, “I thought you had enough to eat for breakfast, but I guess my assumption was wrong. Perhaps you’ve got four stomachs like a cow or something?”

Obviously, her comment managed to warm up my body with a brand new desire for death.

I gritted my teeth as I replied, “I-I worked up an appetite hauling our belongings and your around, okay?!”

 

“But if you think about it carefully, you’re the one to be blamed for that, too.”

“Wha- how does that make any sense?!”

“No one forced you to abduct me, right?”

 

 

… A bitter defeat.

 

I had nothing to counterattack her statement-

Nothing I’d dare to use in this arguement, anyways.

 

The answer ‘Jung Eunji’ was definitely out of the question, as I was definitely not throwing my saviour under the bus for the sake of my own dignity.

Even if I had a better excuse, nothing will truly justify my own choice of getting involved into this mess.

I could’ve declined my other boss’s offer and continued to deal with Dolphin’s sh*t back in the company, but no.

I chose to roll along to her absurd idea instead, and here we are, a few hours later.

 

 

Thank God that my self-control has improved ever since I started working for Park Chorong.

The past Yoon Bomi could’ve dropped all her s and swung a fist or two.

 

 

“Let’s see…” my boss hummed as she glanced at her probably-more-expensive-than-my-nana’s-bills-and-auntie’s-debt-combined wristwatch, “It’s still a bit early for dinner, but perhaps we can temporarily satisfy your hunger by visiting a café. I’m in need of a caffeine fix, anyways.”

I didn’t even get to open my mouth when my stomach let out another growl, as if it understood her words and was answering by itself.

It made me physically face-palm myself before I mustered enough courage to look her in the eyes again.

 

“… I guess I’m not going to object to that suggestion, huh.”

“Then it has been decided. As for our luggage…”

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to make me drag them around the city as a punishment for kidnapping you here.”

“Oh… that’s actually a pretty good suggestion.”

“Well FUC-”

“But don’t worry, there’s no need for that.”

“Oh my God, thank you for your merc-”

“I already have a punishment in mind for you, anyways.”

“… Give me back my gratitude.”

“Request denied.”

 

 

Ignoring my face of disgust, Park Chorong gestured for this dude to come hither before rummaging through her purse.

She handed him one of her name cards and a wad of cash, only meeting his eyes after baffling the hell out of him.

“Check us into our hotel and have them deliver our belongings to our suite. Use the money for any service fees and keep the rest.”

 

“B-But ma’am, this is way too much.” the earnest dude stammered as he tried to return some of the bills, only to have his hand gently pushed away.

My boss proceeded to baffle the hell out of her personal assistant by shaking her head while flashing out a warm smile.

She reasoned back softly, “It’s for your additional service. You deserve it as you’ve worked hard today, so please don’t worry about it.”

 

 

Um… what the frick frack snick snack diddily dack crack pack slack mack is this sh*t?

 

Why was she treating a random employee so much better than me, her frickin’ PA?

Was this an imposter of my boss? Perhaps her secret twin she had never mentioned to me about?

Maybe this was the revenge she had mentioned earlier on, or maybe I’m just that unworthy of her kindess in her ey-

 

 

“Bomi?”

 

 

The sound of my boss’s soft voice instantly snapped me out of my trance and triggered me to flinch violently on the spot. “W-What is it?”

“Shall we get going? I’m afraid that you’ll faint out of hunger if we idle any longer.”

“It’s not that serious, sheesh…”

“Really now? Well then, if you ever do collapse sometime today, I won’t hesitate to abandon your unconscious body on the spot.”

“… Let’s just go.”

 

 

Just as we were about to walk away, a fancy- car could be seen heading towards our direction with quite some speed.

It swerved around Jung Eunji’s entire plane and came to a halt right in front of our bodies, surprising all witnesses.

A suited man then made an exit from the driver’s seat, whipped out this medium-sized banner, and approached us with it.

 

“‘Hello and welcome to Japan! Jung Eunji has assigned me to be your chauffeur for the entirety of your stay here, so please feel free to ask for my service whenever you need a ride!’.” I read the Hangul letters out loud, squinting hard at the extra small words on the last line. “‘PS: I can only speak Japanese and a little bit of English. Sorry in advance!’… What the hell?”

 

“I knew something ridiculous as this was going to happen…” Park Chorong sighed as she pinched her glabella, seemingly done with this trip already. “What on Earth was that rascal thinking when she was making these arrangements?”

“Well, she did complete everything within three hours…” I scratched my head, still wanting to protect my saviour’s name despite of agreeing with my boss’s thoughts for once.

 

I then watched as our driver opened up the backseat doors, gesturing for us to enter.

We reluctantly did as we were told, and once he re-entered the vehicle himself, our eyes met through the rear-end mirror.

That triggered him to finally speak up, a big grin now plastered on his face.

 

 

“BOOTIFUR GURLS, HERE FOR NICEU HONEYMOON, YA???”

 

 

Unanimously, both Dolphin and I slowly turned our heads until we met one another’s eyes.

The look in her gaze clearly screamed for murder.

Mine asked for the permission to unbuckle my seatbelts, hoping that’ll increase my chance to die.

 

I don’t know why he had to choose that question as his first words to us.

I can’t understand why he thought that was an appropriate thing to ask two women whom he’d just met for the first time in his life, either.

All I knew was that my loyalty towards Jung Eunji is quavering, and Park Chorong may become a murderer by the end of our vacation.

 

 

“To the nearest café… please.” my boss raised her voice after taking in a deep breath, astonishing me with her perfect English.

I silently applauded her for her miraculous composure, though I was soon distracted by our man once more.

I found it weird that we weren’t asked for further details, and instead that was all he needed to get going.

 

Without a warning, he started the engine, the radio- which now blasted Gangnam Style at full volume- and slammed his foot onto the accelerator.

That made me cling onto my grip-handle for dear life as I tried my best to not sh*t myself in the back seats.

I felt like we were in Fast and Furious movie, and my death scene is coming up right around the corner.

 

Out of curiousity, I took a quick peek at the ‘bootifur gurl’ beside me and noticed how she now had both of her eyes closed.

By the looks of it, she was either praying to Jesus Christ or she had already passed out in her seat.

I wouldn’t be surprised nor blame her if she had actually experienced both in that order.

 

Luckily for us, however, the hellish car ride only lasted for five minutes.

I don’t think I would’ve survived if I was stuck in there for another second.

That bastard of a man was actually playing his own music through Bluetooth connection-

 

And out of all the songs available in this universe, he chose to play Gangnam Style on a motherf*cking loop.

I almost started frothing out of my mouth.

 

 

“Well, at least he brought us to where we asked for…” my boss muttered after we both took a breather, staring at the chalkboard stand which clearly had the English word ‘café’ written among its content. “I was starting to think that we got kidnapped or something. How did someone this rowdy and chaotic get hired to become our chauffeur?”

“I’d like to ask the same thing…” I grunted while giving my limbs a good ol’ stretch, ignoring all the cracks that came from my stiff bones. “At least we survived in one piece, I suppose. You’re very welcome to scold your partner about this. I won’t even try to protect her this time.”

“I’ll do just that. Remind me when we get back.”

 

 

After we were finally calm enough to move our legs, we slowly headed towards the café’s entrance.

Like the gentlewoman I was, I went ahead and pulled open the door for m’lady.

She entered without any signs of hesitation… but boy, should she have hesitated.

 

 

Because we ended up being greeted by a freakin’ maid.

 

 

Assuming that my boss also didn’t have any maid es, I’d consider our reactions to be normal.

Meaning that we stared straight at the chick, jaws dropped to the ground, with our eyeballs now on the brink of popping out of their sockets.

I even added in a tiny ‘what the ’ under my breath.

 

’Cause look- our requests were fairly simple.

Park Chorong just wanted a cup of coffee, something that can be purchased at literally anywhere nowadays.

I just wanted to stop my stomach from screaming as if it’s about to digest itself.

I’m not even a picky eater… so why this sort of place, man?

 

 

“Unnie…” I hissed lowly through my gritted teeth while maintaining an ever-so fake smile for the stranger.

My boss simply gave me a glance, her eyes now blank as if she had lost all hope in life.

“… I’m too big of a to leave without ordering anything. What do we do?”

“… That means we don’t really have a choice, huh.” I heard her grumble before she faced the maid chick again.

I watched in horror as she gave her a small nod. “A table for two, please…”

 

 

And just like that, our maid-waitress to practically skip further into the café, gesturing for us to follow once she realised we weren’t budging.

I don’t know about Park Chorong, but I had to utilise my entire willpower to move both of my legs forward.

At least I made it to our table without stealing someone’s knife to stab myself.

 

Once my boss and I have taken our seats, aka surrendered ourselves completely to this hell-hole, our waitress placed down a menu each in front of us.

She then poured two glasses of water before gesturing towards a pink button on the side of the table.

 

“Press when ready!” she explained in simple English, somehow realising the fact that we were foreigners. “Moeko will wait ♥ ”

‘How the hell did she say ‘ ♥ ’ out loud’ was what I wanted to blurt out loud at first, but I settled with ‘um, okay’ instead.

It thankfully sent her away, and I made sure she was far away enough before letting out this unapologetically loud groan.

Park Chorong instantly shook her head in disapproval.

 

“Manners, Yoon Bomi.” she reminded sternly as she scanned through their heavily-decorated menu book. “Even if this doesn’t suit your taste, there’s no need to behave like that so obviously. They’re just doing their jobs.”

“Sorry, but I couldn’t hold it back- the pain from our driver’s crap, I mean.” I grumbled back before giving the book a weak flip. “I can’t believe he introduced us to his fantasyland without a single warning. I’ll forever be traumatised by anything maid related now.”

 

 

“Just order something, finish it, and leave. Complaining won’t get you anywhere.”

“Fine, but I highly suggest for you to order their strongest drink. You’ll probably need it too.”

“This is a café and not a bar- though I would want to forget about this day completely.”

“I was talking about the caffeine dosage, unnie.”

“Anyways, remember not to order something too filling. We’re still going out for dinner tonight.”

“Don’t worry, I’ve lost my appetite after what we’ve just experienced.”

“Order their smallest dessert, then. I’ll have my drink to go so we can leave as soon as you’re done.”

“Glad we’re on the same page.”

 

 

And thus, we summoned back our waitress with a single press of a button.

She returned to our table in her full maid-outfit glory, now holding onto an order pad.

“Hi hi! Moeko’s here ♥ ” she exclaimed with her energy level still at 100%, making me gulp in pure fear.

 

“Hi, um… I’ll have one… ‘Doki Doki Cheesecake of Love’…” I read my order with an intense sensation of cringe running up and down my spine.

At this point, Park Chorong was not-so-secretly snickering at me- in front of me. The audacity.

I had to forcefully suppress my urge of giving her a kick from beneath the table, but thankfully our waitress didn’t seem to notice our silent banter.

“That is a good choice! What about you, Park Chorong-san?”

 

 

Instantly, the two of us halted whatever emotions we were feeling and replaced them with a balanced mixture of surprise and confusion.

It was due to the fact that, even though neither of us had given her our names, our cute lil’ maid-waitress had called out my boss’s full name as if her identity was written on her forehead for the whole wide world to see.

 

I started to panic.

 

Was this chick secretly a mind-reader or some sorts?

What if she was actually a Japanese spy who’s hired to stalk my boss?

Will I be forced to show off my Taekwondo skills and sock her in the f-

 

 

“I’m a BIG fan of Apink, Park Chorong-san ♥ ”

 

 

Oh.

Well then, never-mind about all that.

The boss is safe, and so am I.

There’s no need to punch a Japanese chick and get sent to jail anymore.

 

 

“Oh… I wasn’t expecting to get recognised in a place like… this.”

“I know C&E because Apink is my favourite group!”

“I see. Thank you for loving our artists.”

“No no, thank you! They make me so happy, every day!”

“I’ll make sure to pass on your words to them. They’ll appreciate your support.”

“R-Really?! KYAAAAA ♥ ”

 

 

Our fangirling waitress soon remembered how she was still on duty, making her dash back into the kitchen right after she took down Dolphin’s order.

I traced her movements with my eyes, and that’s when I finally noticed how our table was garnering quite a lot of attention from other customers, too.

Pretty sure it was all thanks to the woman sitting across from me, who remained oblivious as .

 

“I didn’t know that non-artists could get recognised, too.” I marvelled as my gaze continued to scan around the store, “That looked exactly like an idol being approached by a fan. I was pretty surprised for you.”

“Well, I am the CEO of our company.” she replied after taking a sip of her water, “Jung Eunji and I do get recognised once in a while, but I won’t be expecting for people to come asking for an autograph or a picture anytime soon. We’re not actual idols, after-all.”

 

 

… Little did my naïve boss know, she had cursed herself with those exact words.

 

 

As if life had shrieked ‘SIKE B*TCH’ on the top of its lungs, my boss soon found herself getting approached by four different people-

And that was only within the span of when our order was taken by Moeko and when our order arrived at our table.

Some people came and asked for a picture, others wanted an autograph.

One bold chick even dared to ask for both, making me want to applaud her for her bravery yet also question her about her sanity.

 

However, it was honestly amusing to see how flustered my boss can get from all the unexpected attention.

I could tell how hard she was trying to be nice to all these strangers even if she felt a bit uncomfortable.

Plus, just between you and me…

 

She looked pretty darn cute.

 

“You should just debut as an idol yourself.” I chuckled as I poked my ‘love-filled’ cake with a fork, instantly gaining myself a death glare.

“I don’t crave for attention and fame.” she mumbled with a slight frown… though all of a sudden, as if someone flicked a switch within her brain, her expression changed into one of a lecturer’s. “Speaking of attention, Bomi-ah, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about.”

 

It was my turn to arch out a frown, obviously confused by the sudden switch of topic.

“Okaaay…? And what might that be?” I asked before I took a bite of my dessert.

“Has your fashion sense always been that bad?”

 

 

What a poor ing timing it was to eat food.

 

 

Her absurd question made me start a coughing fit. What a Queen.

My lovely boss merely sat there in her seat, patiently waiting for me to recollect myself.

I had to chug down the rest of my water before I was capable of speaking up again.

 

“Why the heck are you dissing me all of a sudden?!”

“I’m not. I’m just stating my displeasure in the way you dress yourself.”

“But why do you care? Even if I’m a fashion terrorist, that’s on me.”

“No, you still don’t get it.”

“Well spill it out, then!”

 

 

The two of us maintained our glares for each other until my boss let out a soft sigh.

She shook her head as if I was the most hopeless personal assistant she has ever had in her career.

I simply crossed my arms before my chest as I waited for whatever’s coming at me.

She soon delivered.

 

 

“Look, now that you’re an employee of C&E Entertainment you’ll need to start maintaining a good public image, which can be controlled through your choice of behaviour and appearance. You might’ve not realised this, but you’re now a face to our name- meaning you have the power to influence our reputation through how the public perceives you. That is why we ask our staff to dress appropriately and behave with manners while they’re in public. It’s just a part of your duty as a representative of our company.”

 

 

… Needless to say, I was in a complete state of shock.

 

My entire body had to buffer in my seat just so my brain could process all of her words.

I realised the more I understood what she was saying, the more I wanted to rip out all of my hair.

Because I realised-

 

 

Park Chorong is absolutely insane.

 

 

“Unnie… you still remember the fact that we’re currently on a vacation… right?”

“What I’ve just informed you applies to wherever you go, no matter the occasion.”

“But can’t a b*tch dress comfortably while she’s on vacay?!”

“Language- also, there are ways to be comfortable and look presentable.”

“I am… I’m honestly speechless right now.”

“Then stop talking.”

 

 

Real talk: I thought Jung Eunji was being a weirdo for acting so hastily.

I thought she was insane to arrange everything in such an abrupt and short amount of time, but now I get it.

I finally understood why she was in such a rush to send Dolphin away from their business.

 

It’s because Park Chorong’s condition was way worse than I had thought.

 

She has stuck herself in her work-mode, whether if she was truly at work or not.

It’s no wonder both her mental and physical conditions have been deteriotating as time goes by.

She’s not letting herself rest. At all.

 

If Jung Eunji hadn’t done anything about it, there’d actually a chance of Park Chorong crashing from over-working.

Or the worst case scenario- she’d overwork herself to death.

The Japanese even have a specific word for it. Karōshi.

 

 

I  have to help her.

I need to think of a way to help her.

I must suceed, for both Eye-Smile and for Dolphin herself.

 

… I say all that, yet the only thing I’m doing right now is gulping down my nerves.

… All because I accidentally saw my boss looking me up and down.

 

 

Snap out of it, you useless lesbian.

 

 

I quickly distracted myself from the warmth in my cheeks by taking a good look at my own attire.

I tried to understand why it was such a disgrace, but I honestly couldn’t tell what seemed to be the issue.

My boss was still being pretty stubborn about it though.

 

“After this, we’re going to change out your entire wardrobe.”

“Please say sike right now.”

“You’re simply not allowed to dress like this as long as you’re working for me. I won’t allow it.”

“But boss, you do know that I’m too broke to be going on a shopping spree, right? Even if I’m willing to go through this make-over for you, stores won’t let me use ‘broke-person tears’ as currency.”

 

To my surprise- since I was being serious for once- she started to giggle uncontrollably.

I thought she had gone insane, but then again, I’m pretty sure I’d be the one to lose my mind first.

Hence, I simply stared back at her as she took another sip of her drink, eventually calming back down.

 

 

“There’s no need to worry about the expenses, Bomi-ah.”

“How is that even possible when this is about me and my sh*tty clothes?”

“I’m not cruel enough to make you pay for the clothes I’m forcing you to wear, okay?”

“Wait… say what now?”

“I’ll be the one paying for whatever we’re getting you today, so you don’t need to worry about it at all.”

 

 

… Perhaps she did go insane before me.

 

Also, what is it with my bosses wanting to be my sugar mommy?

Was this a tactic to win over my faithfulness and obedience?

Will they use such incidents against me in the future?

 

A few weeks ago, I was still working five jobs, seven days a week.

I got kicked out of my house without a warning, and I almost yeeted myself into a river.

A few weeks later, I became the personal assistant to a multi-billionaire CEO.

I somehow scored myself an overseas vacation, and currently my boss wants to go buy some new clothes for me.

 

These drastic changes still felt surreal, and I’m honestly struggling to keep up.

Nothing in my life seemed to be controllable at this point, and I don’t think I can do anything about it other than praying to my Saviour Jung.

I promise to work hard, so please protect me, my liege.

 

 

“Thank you for coming! Bye bye, Chorong-san ♥ ” our bubbly maid-tress cheered loudly as we made our way back to their main entrance.

We finally got the chance to escape before anyone else could come up to our table again.

Dolphin left with a whooping score of seven people as her total of one’s-that-dared-to-say-hi.

 

The two of us simultaneously let out a sigh of relief once we were outside, glad that the unwanted experience was over.

I was completely done with all their cutesy sh*t and the public display of maid es.

Dolphin seemed to be done with people in general.

At least she was nice enough to smile for those people until the very end.

A⁺ for that effort, boss.

 

 

“Oh my God- look who’s still here.” I caught myself flinching upon spotting a particular vehicle, the muted melody of Bar Bar Bar gradually travelling to my ears. “Please don’t tell me we’re taking his car to the mall. I’ve yet to recover from his previous ride.”

“Don’t worry, I’m just as traumatised as you are.” Park Chorong shuddered just from recalling what had went down, “Wait here. I’ll go talk to him.”

“Good luck, sergeant.” I saluted with my gaze stuck onto her backside.

 

I watched as she made her way over to the driver’s window, giving it a few light knocks.

Her actions resulted in our man to roll down his windows- meaning Bar Bar Bar was now blasting itself straight out of the vehicle and into our earholes, damaging them greatly. Now I’m all prepared to go ‘jumping, yeah jumping’ straight into my casket for someone to bury me alive.

you and your maid , ya ’ with a unique taste in Korean music.

 

“We’re going to the nearest mall.” I somehow heard my boss say despite of the 2013 bop rumbling in the background, “We’re going to walk, but we’ll need a ride to our hotel later on. Please come and pick us up in around four hours, as we’ll be waiting for you by its main entrance.”

“NO PROBLEMU, MY LADY! ENJOY TIME WIZ YOUR WIFEU, PLEASEU!”

 

 

And with that said, our mad lad sped off into the streets of Japan.

He had said that so casually, my boss didn’t even get to react in time.

All Park Chorong could do is just stand there, absolutely defeated.

 

Our guy should be thankful for his speedy- car.

That’s probably the only reason why he didn’t get murdered right in front of my eyes.

 

I shall start praying for his safety, since my boss may have him assassinated before we even get to purchase a single piece of clothing today.

May Jesus be with you, my brother. You’ll need His blessings.

 

 

After a quick search on Google Maps, Park Chorong and I started our journey on the streets of Japan.

Thanks to all the unexpected encounters within the coffee shop, I paid more attention to our surroundings.

It made me realise how there’s many more who’s capable of recognising my apparent spouse.

 

Luckily for us though, we were able to reach the mall before anyone could even attempt to approach us.

Thank you, almighty Google, for always picking the shortest route available.

You’re the real MVP.

 

 

“Alrighty, where do we start?” I asked after we headed straight up to the second floor, avoiding the mixed scents of perfumes and skin care products.

My ears have suffered enough already, so I really don’t want to start torturing my nose, too.

“We’re getting your measurements taken first,” Park Chorong notified while she studied the directory, tapping a particular spot on the map. “so that we can get them altered to the perfect fit right afterwards. This way we’ll be able to save a lot of time and energy for ourselves.”

 

Damn… was this how rich people usually shop for clothes?

Just buy whatever clothes they want without a single damn, all because they’ll get them customised anyways?

That’s like, a power move I never knew existed.

 

“Billionaires are scary, bruh.”

“Bomi, you’re talking out loud.”

“OH SHI-”

 

Without further ado, we entered our first destination- this small tailor shop on the 5^th floor.

My boss straight up asked the employee to take all of my measurements, and that immediately commenced.

I felt like I was in the middle of a medical exam thanks to the precision and seriousness, so that was nerve-wrecking as hell for me.

The fact that Chorong-unnie was intensely staring at us the entire time didn’t help make it any easier, either.

 

 

“Okay, let’s see…” I heard my boss mutter to herself after we were finished, having moved onto the next location.

The two of us were currently in a suit store, and I was simply following behind her to wherever she went… and secretly judging her behind her back.

I just can’t believe we’re starting things off with formal wear. What’s with the CEOs and their love for suits?

Where the hell was the ‘comfy yet presentable’ option?

 

“Bomi, go try on this one for me.”

“I thought the while point of getting them altered was to skip this step?” I asked even though I still automatically retrieved the set of clothing.

“That’s correct, but I still need to figure out what kind of clothing suits you the best.”

“I’ve never put this much effort into clothing shopping, my God.”

“That sure explains why you dress like… that.”

“Stop dissing me right in front of my face, oi.”

 

 

Disregarding my complaints, I was ultimately forced to try on a total of five outfits.

Each and every fit owned a completely different style, specific for some kind of occasion or season.

She gave each outfit a good look before she finally let me switch back to my own disgusting attire.

Once I was done with that, she brought me to the centre of the store.

 

“Bomi, if I touch something, take it off the rack.” she deadpanned.

I merely nodded to the fairly simple task… which was arrogant of me.

It turned out I wasn’t mentally prepared for the task- like, not even a lil’ bit.

 

Her hands did end up touching ¼ of the entire store, after-all.

 

Both the store clerk and I stared at the mountain we’ve created on her check-out counter, struggling to accept how that’s the reality.

My boss merely took out a single card from her purse, raising an eyebrow at the unmoving lady.

“Um, I’d like you to remove all the tags for us, but you’ll need to scan them first, right?”

 

That surely got the poor employee moving her hands out of fear, with each beep of her scanner adding a bit of weight into my heart.

Dolphin didn’t even bother to take a single peek at the price monitor, while I, on the other hand, lacked the courage to do so.

The total of our purchase could probably send me into a cardiac arrest, and I didn’t want my unconscious- to get abandoned in a Japanese mall anytime soon. Not today, Satan. Not today.

 

 

After many, many minutes of folding and storing the pieces of clothing into shopping bags for us, we bid our farewells to the exhausted clerk.

She looked as if her soul had left her body, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she quit her job the very next day.

I’m sorry for being the reason behind this traumatising experience, ma’am.

 

“Unnie, please… wait for me…” I huffed in pure exhaustion with sweat trickling down my neck.

My arms felt as if they’re about to snap off of my torso any second, yet the woman before me made no effort to help. “You are… such a …”

Of course, like the absolute sweetheart she is, my lovely boss pretended she didn’t hear a single thing and continued leading me back to the tailor’s.

 

 

Compared to this, I’d much rather carry her around the entire city.

My body aches more than my ex-third job, which was to clean up an entire two-story house alone.

I am sweating like a wh*re in church, for God’s sake.

 

 

As soon as we returned to our first stop, I carelessly plopped all the bags down onto the tailor’s counter and whimpered from the soreness of my limbs.

Park Chorong continued to ignore her dying assistant and simply went to the stunned staff member.

“I want you to adjust all of these according to the previous measurements you took. I need them done in less than three hours, as we…”

 

My boss was instructing the staff until the abrupt ringing of her phone stole her attention, resulting her voice to fade away.

“Sorry, please excuse me.” was all she said before she whipped out the device, failing to notice how the poor tailor was on the verge of tears.

Me too, girl. Me too.

 

Upon discovering the caller’s identity, Park Chorong’s eyes widened ever so slightly.

I watched in confusion as she hastily wrapped up her instructions, becoming even more confused when she dragged me outside by the wrist.

She proceeded to shove a card into my hand. “I need to take this call, so feel free to explore around the place. Use this for whatever you need, and I’ll contact you as soon as I’m finished, okay?”

 

I wasn’t really okay since I didn’t want to be alone in an unfamiliar location, but it turned out that wasn’t really a question.

Dolphin spun her heels and left right after she was done speaking, only letting me hear a ‘sorry to keep you waiting, hello?’.

I could only stare at her backside until she disappeared into the distance, my hands still frozen in place.

 

You’d think I’d be all excited and ready to go swipey-swipe the hell out of her card, since this was a once-in-a-life-time, everyone’s biggest dream moment… but honestly dude, I feel too stressed out by the power and wealth of Park Chorong to even think about using it.

Just by having it in my hands is giving me a panic attack, so I guess I’ll have to find other ways to kill time.

 

Congrats on not becoming bankrupt thanks to your insane amount of trust in your PA, Dolphin.

Perhaps you can replace some of that trust with kindness.

I really do prefer the latter.

 

 

Like the loner I truly am, I began to wander around the large building without a particular destination in mind.

I window-shopped some stores, quietly observed the other customers around me, and truly behaved like a model tourist…

 

 

So why on Earth did life still punish me for minding my own business and make me almost sh*tting myself in public???

 

 

It was all thanks to this loud- shriek of fury, and I thought it was my boss at first.

The amount of anger within her voice reminded me of Dolphin when I accidentally spilt my coffee on her.

It’s the kind where you knew someone was going to get murdered as soon as they’re caught.

I’m just an extremely lucky survivor.

 

However, it didn’t take me long to realise that it wasn’t my boss, as the tone of the voice was quite different in comparison.

Park Chorong’s was soft yet formidable, while the unknown stranger sounded powerful and clear.

They simply share the same temper, I suppose.

 

 

Having said that, despite of already confirming her not-my-boss status through spotting her in the distance, I couldn’t bring myself to walk away.

It wasn’t just because her voice was somewhat alluring to the ears, nor the fact that she was so loud her words echoed throughout the entire floor-

But because this angry woman was actually yelling in a language I could understand.

 

I somehow stumbled upon a fellow Korean.

Well, 안녕하세요 there.

 

“Um… you okay?” I let my curiosity take the reins and boldly approached her, instantly regretting my decision when she whipped her head around.

She had an incredibly powerful aura that easily intimated me, her posture obviously expressing some kind of judgement.

Based on her trendy outfit, perhaps she’s wondering why my fashion sense was this horrible, too.

 

“Obviously I’m not okay.” the chick fumed while her foot tapped impatiently against the marble floor. “How dare she make me wait like this- especially when we’re on a tight schedule overseas! What was Eunji-nim thinking when she hired that punk?! Preposterous!”

“I’m sorry to hear you’re having a bad… wait a minute- Eunji-nim?”

 

 

There’s no freakin’ way.

 

Not only did I stumble across a fellow Korean, I stumbled across a co-worker of mine?

Do such absurd coincidences exist, or am I actually still dreaming in my sleep?

 

 

“Don’t tell me… are you an employee of C&E Entertainment?”

“You… don’t know who I am?”

“Um, was I supposed to…?”

 

 

As if I murdered her entire family, she dramatically removed her sunglasses and glared at me in disbelief.

I found myself flinching upon seeing her large eyes for the first time, her gaze showcasing even more boldness.
For the first time in my life, I felt overwhelmed by someone’s confidence.

This is some diva behaviour I’ve only seen in teen rom-coms.

 

 

I quietly watched on as she placed a hand onto her hips, letting out a sigh.

I couldn’t really tell what’s on her mind other than she found me ridiculous for not knowing her.

At least she didn’t keep me waiting for long and soon spoke up with a faint smirk on her lips. “Look, I don’t know who you might be,”

 

 

 

“but I’m the greatest solo artist of C&E Entertainment.”

 

 

 

 

… me.