**********

 

It was a late Sunday afternoon in the middle of October, the sky no longer blue as the sunset painted the last remaining part of it in a streak of pink and purple. Much to my dismay, even on a lazy Sunday as this, the roaring of motors and screeches from tires from overeager drivers seemed endless as I sped westward down the Interstate 210 freeway. The destination? The city of Arcadia, California. While I hated the dreadful LA traffic, at least the view wasn’t bad since the freeway ran alongside the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains to the north of it, painting them in a nice comforting shades of orange and yellow.

 

As for why I was driving there? A job.

 

What job?

 

To be a Piano Teacher.

 

A week ago, I wouldn’t even be searching for this since I already had a job but why work in a career (being a masseuse) I had no interest in? I only did it because I just followed what my mother did since I had no idea what I wanted to do in my life...yet at least. While teaching piano isn’t exactly something I’m super passionate about either, I thought it would be an interesting venture since I could use this as a stepping stone to find something better. I’ve taught 3 people when I was a bit younger so at least I have some experience in it than going in completely blind. The position opened up a little over 3 hours ago and Arcadia was about 25 minutes away from where I stayed so I had to hop on it with quickness and luck on my side….hopefully.

 

Upon finally reaching the city, I sped through the neighborhoods and as expected, I was in awe as I drove by houses upon houses that grew bigger and more luxurious on each passing street. If there was a place the wealthy lived that, there was no doubt that it was definitely here….I mean it’s called The Chinese Beverly Hills for a reason. As minutes passed and my GPS got closer to my destination, my heart grew even more and more weary since I was sure that I wasn’t going to be the first at the job listing. Because of all my worrying thoughts and ogling of the mansions, I almost missed the address to the left side of the street until a familiar robotic voice announced:

 

“You have arrived at your destin-*SKKKRRRRRRTTT*ation.”

 

I slammed the brakes a little TOO hard as I shifted forward a bit, almost giving my steering wheel more action than I had in months by a mere inch….thank goodness for seat belts. Always buckle up kids.

 

As I looked to the left of my car, I didn’t know whether to believe the GPS or not but it stopped at an exquisite looking Tuscan Villa hou-…..no…..pardon me, mansion. Even from where I sat, I saw that it had an large attached garage with 3 luxury cars, an insanely large lawn with various trees in front and even a small pond with a fountain and benches near it…..all right in the middle of the friggin’ lawn! Because of the size of the mansion itself, I couldn’t see much of the back yard but there was clearly a large modern looking guest house alongside a pool with its own pool house behind it.

 

“Ho….ly…....”

 

Just looking at the place screamed ‘RICH’ as my mouth was left agape with awe from how fancy it looked. If anything, I almost felt choking then and there from how rich the air was….hell, I felt insignificant and like dirt just by parking there with my dinky old Honda Accord. After a few moments of gathering my breath again, I forgot that this was a job listing and I had to be as quick as I can before another person came actually takes the position. Thankfully, it looked like my car was the only one parked on the curb while 3 cars were parked outside the garage. I stepped out, locked my doors and quickly walked towards the mansion where I saw an older Asian woman tending the yard, outfitted like how most gardeners as she hummed peacefully in her own world.

 

She seemed busy tending to her flowers but I had to know for sure if this was the right place of course...

 

“Excuse me mam, is this where the job listing for a piano teacher is located?” I asked politely to the woman but my voice kind of faltered in the end because of my nervousness. Her head shot up and looked to where I was at and beamed a smile towards me. Even for an older lady, her smile seemed brighter than my future....

 

“Oh yes, yes it is!” she said rather excitedly. The woman carefully put down a flower pot she was holding and rushed to me with much enthusiasm in her voice that it kind of startled me a bit.

 

“My my, you are quite beautiful are you? And so young! Out of the people who came, you seem like a breath of fresh air!”

 

Well that confirms that I wasn’t the first one here but does that mean I still have a chance? She wasn’t dismissing me…..yet at least.”

 

“I....I-I’m not beau-”

 

She quickly gave me a comforting pat on my shoulders and stared at my face for a closer inspection. “Now dear, don’t be so nervous or modest when you look so so lovely sweetie! As a mother, I would treasure having someone like you as a daughter….maybe you should become friends with my own!”

 

The singsongness of her voice sounded soothing to my ears but maybe it was because she reminded me of my own mother. That’s something I notice about Asian mothers of basically all nationalities: Praise, praise, praise. Either that or scold, scold, scold...pick your poison with your grades! Anyway, they’re almost always like this when they meet kids and even young adults like me. Next thing is she’ll probably want me to ea-

 

“Would you like to eat? We have many varieties of food if you are hungry!”

 

Bingo.

 

“I-it’s okay mam! I actually jus-”

 

“No eat first! Eat! Now come!” the stern voice of a mother…..oh god.

 

She took my hand and practically dragged me towards the front door as I lifelessly knew I couldn’t resist a mother bent on feeding someone...am I a baby bird now?

 

Just when we were about to enter it, a small teenager shot her head out with a look of curiosity in her rather large puppy like eyes….almost like a real life anime character.

 

“Yo Ma, do you know wher-...oh….waddup yo!” her face froze on me as the mother kept dragging me towards the door.

 

Long silver-ish hair with slightly lavender tips, petite in height (imagine 4 large pizzas stacked on top of each other length wise) and width (maybe 1 and 1/3rd of a pizza…….mmmm pizza), the word adorable would even envy how cute she looked. I waved at her and slightly bowed causing her to do the same, not expecting the smol (very smol) teen to greet me so casually and laid back. Considering it was a rich neighborhood, I expected a snobbish arsehole of a teen like in the movies that spoke in a condescending tone while looking down on me but nope.

 

“….hi?” I uttered...maybe a little too quiet.

 

An adorable smile broke her face, curious as she gestured for me to come forward.

 

“Are you here for the job listing sis?”

 

Sis? Smol teen is already lovable munchkin.

 

The mother kept dragging me towards her until I was finally in front where she kept both her hands on my shoulder as if showcasing me. “Nyaaaako dear, please give this beautiful young lady something to eat.” She then started to pinch my face as I was unsure of what to do or think next. “Just look at these cute cheeks, you can tell that she loves to eat! I know she can fit 5 takoyaki in these.”

 

Well she aint lying honestly...did she had some?

 

Thankfully the daughter, named Nacho it seems if I heard it right….(right?), came to the rescue and pulled her mother from my body and started guiding her back to where she once was.

 

“Yo Ma...could you stop babying a job seeker? I’m 100% sure she’s here for that job listing Papa put up earlier….right?”

 

I nodded of course.

 

The mother turned to look back and kept pointing at me to go into the house, still concerned of me needing to eat. “Yes she is, but she looks starving! Famished!”

 

They both stopped and Nacho started to shoo her back to doing what she was doing earlier as I started to feel a bit awkward. They must be really close since I’ve never seen a daughter shoo their own mother before but I’m guessing this happens more than often in this household it seems. If this was any other household, a slipper would be waiting for Ms. Buttcheek 1 and 2.

 

“She’s the first one here and is probably in a hurry Maaa! Please, I’ll take care of this!” she finished her shoo-ing and put both her hands on her hips to tell her mother that she had this under control. The older woman responded by pinching her cheeks in return much to Nacho’s dismay with a roll of her eyes.

 

“Awww sweetie poo, well you take care of this job thing and feed her afterwards okay?”

 

Nacho turned back and paced towards me with a wave upwards towards her mom that she understood.

 

“Yeah yeah yeah...also Sakuroni and Cheese called and said she’s busy and tired but she’ll drop by real quick in about 30 minutes or so. She said something about not staying too long and that she’ll bring that uhhh….mmm....thing tomorrow...what was it? Iunno, that thingamajig.”

 

“Okay sweetie, I’ll see her soon. And you there.” the mother wiggled her finger in a circular motion at me….is this hypnosis?

 

“Y-yes?”

 

She moved her hand against her stomach in a circular motion and stated “Please eat before you go okay?” to which I reluctantly nodded. She then made a backwards peace sign and pointed to her eyes….and then back at me.

 

“Promise.”

 

……….oh god. Either this lady is gonna stuff my stomach herself or she’s gonna kill me.

 

She smiled as she casually strolled back to where she once was and waved back, causing me to do the same….for I have felt fear for the first time today. As she went out of view where the fountain was, Nacho came before me with a smile as she opened the front door for me.

 

“....thanks for saving me.”

 

A light chuckle came out of Nacho as she shook her head.

 

“No probs sis, you know how moms are right? I do suggest you eat before you leave though...” She cracked a wide grin as she looked back and saw her mom still looking at them from behind a bush….literally. By literal, I mean opening a bush from the other side and making a hole to watch us.

 

“Ignore her, she just sees a new girl and immediately wants us to become friends.”

 

I chuckled also, understanding fully what she meant. “Yeah I know, my mom is the same.”

 

She placed an open palm in front of her waiting for a handshake. “The name’s Nako, Miyawaki Nako.” I took her hand and shook it with a small bow.

 

Oh.....it’s not Nacho? Jeez...all this time….

 

“Hello Nac-….Nako…...my name is Kang Hyewon.”

 

Her eyes widened for a brief moment as she answered back.

 

“Oh, you’re Korean huh?! Annyeooong hehe!”

 

“Yeah, and annyeong yourself. Haseyou doing?” *wink* *wink*

 

She stared at me blankly and for those 10 seconds of silence, never have I regretted saying a pun in my entire life. Was it my delivery? My tone of voice? The winks?

 

She slowly leaned towards my ear and whispered.

 

“Gwenchana…..it’s gonna be gwenchana…..your pun dies with me.”

 

She placed her small hands in front of my face, opened it like a book and then closed it.

 

“It’s now placed in a coffin in my mind.”

 

She then ed her hands towards the air above us as she opened it again.

 

“....and already being sent to pun heaven. RIP ‘Haseyou doing’ 2020-2020...May it never see light in a day ever again.”

 

Oh no….ohh no…..ohh god. She ethered me…..this little tiny smol Japanese teen just ethered me….ethered me so much that it burned the depths of my soul. RIP my soul #2.

 

I cupped my hand towards her ear.

 

“........let’s never speak of this burn you just gave me…..please?”

 

She cupped her hands and mimicked my actions.

 

“Already gone in my head.” she cleared and stood straight again like nothing happened. She’s good…..she’s really good. Note in my mind: Don’t mess with Nako, the smol Japanese flame bender or she’ll light your soul on fire.

 

“Anywho, I was sure you were Chinese since there’s mostly Chinese here in Arcadia so my B sis. You are looking to be a piano teacher right?” she questioned, already forgotten the past 30 seconds like nothing ever happened. Good.

 

“Uh….uhhh…..are you the student I’m supposed to teach?” I queried.

 

She pointed her finger towards her face. “Me?” With a quick shake of her head, she dismissed it.
“Nope, that would be my little brother Souta. He is in his room right now with my Pops. You teached before?”

 

I gave her a half nod/shake and replied. “Yeah but nobody outside of my extended family before. I mostly taught my brother and 2 relatives long ago so this is a first I guess? I was a masseuse for just a little bit before this but it was not my thing.”

 

“A masseuse?” she asked with a quick tilt of the head.

 

“Yeah, but I only did it because I did not know what to do at the time. I practiced it from my mother since she used to be a massage therapist not too long ago.”

 

Interest began growing on her face. “Any reason why?”

 

I answered immediately of course since being a masseuse often had a nasty stigma to it....I'm sure people know why of course. “I used to suffer a lot from muscle aches when I was younger….something called chronic myofascial pain or CMP for short. My dad has it also and I guess it traveled down the DNA highway to me unfortunately. My mom became a masseuse long ago so she could help him before I was born and after I got it, she helped me out with it and gradually, it went away as time went on….that plus stretching and exercising every now and then of course.” I added.

 

Her eyes grew worried with concern as she placed a hand on my shoulder. “Oh wow...well I’m glad you got over that since that sounds pretty bad. How about your dad?”

 

I lowered my gaze to the ground as I thought about for a moment.

 

“He still suffers from it occasionally but not as much as he used too….but still, he’s getting up there in age so I don’t know how he’ll handle it then.”

 

“I see. Well if you do get employed as a piano teacher here, I’ll be sure to tell my father about his condition.”

 

Huh….what’s this? I shot my eyes back up to her in interest since I didn’t expect to hear something like that. I mean this was just a random conversation and I still haven’t even auditioned yet...

 

“Y-you don’t have to, I...I didn’t even mean to talk about it honestly.”

 

“It’s already in my brain so I’ve already stored the information. Let’s hope you get the job ehh?”

 

Is this real? If anything, it motivated me to actually get the job more now.

 

“So back at it….you were a masseuse huh?”

 

“Uhh...yeah…...basically…...but as time went on, it just wasn’t my thing so I wanted to look into a field elsewhere and that got me here. If your back or muscles are feeling kinda funny, I may be able to help.” I appealed, showing her my hands and wiggling them freely in front of her.

 

She looked at me seriously and hit me with a question that took me out of it for a bit.

 

“Hmmm....I actually know someone who needs it honestly but I'll have to open her up to it. As for me on the other hand….... can you stretch me to make me taller?”

 

An awkward silence came between us as we observed each other’s face for a moment. I slowly brought my hands in as I glanced at her from head to toe.

 

“Umm…..I’m afraid that’s………..out of my hands.”

 

The silence came back for a short moment.

 

5 seconds passed.

 

 

10.

 

 

15.

 

 

Within those moments, she tried hard to stifle a giggle within that tiny body of hers but failed. Her shoulders would occasionally rise up and down every now and then, causing me to my lips in so as not to laugh…..it failed. As if a geyser erupted, both of us busted our laughing at the same time as she almost doubled over from her own joke and my punch line of sort. It was quite refreshing to relieve some tension and nervousness in the air so I’m glad she had a nice sense of humor. After a few moments of quieting down, she patted my shoulder as she wiped a few tears away.

 

“I think I’m going to like you unnie.....no....I know I am.” she stated rather enthusiastically with the biggest of smiles.

 

“Likewise.”

 

“Also it’s understandable that you looked for something else. Falling into the same route everyday is tiring, especially if it’s something that doesn’t excite you right?”

 

“Exactly!”

 

“Heh, well let’s get you inside so you can audition shall we? I’ll get my Pops in a short while but he’s currently busy with my brother right now.”

 

She led me inside and to say I was amazed was an understatement as my jaw was left hanging by its hinges.

 

“You can leave your shoes right here.” She pointed to an area in the corner with various amounts of shoes neatly piled and lined up. I took my shoes off and proceeded as I gawked at how spacious the place was with ceilings at least 4 times higher than a regular house.

 

The entrance hall was wide as it was long that interconnected with a lounge room to the left and to the right, a grand staircase further down the hall leading up to a 2nd floor. Further down it was of course the enormous dining area and the kitchen. It was too far away to see all the details of it but from where I was at, I could already parts of the backyard and the pool area. Everything in the mansion was relatively modern but there were various pieces of Japanese art and decorations that gave off a nice classy aesthetic to the place.

 

She opened her arms wide like a showcase model in a game show as we walked to the left into the lounge room that housed the Grand Piano to the side in it’s glorious polished Ebony color.

 

“Welcome to the Miyawaki Family Manor! Come on in as this is where you’ll be auditioning at.”

 

I kept staring in wonder since everything was seriously huge. The room itself was large and gorgeous...I mean it had its own staircase leading upstairs into a balcony-like area where you can look down below. On the ground floor, there were various couches, tables and what not lined side by side with a large TV on the side wall and an array of trophies at the back corner….A LOT of trophies. Heck, there was even an aquarium that looked like it was built inside the wall itself that hosted a variety of brightly colored fishes here and there.

 

“Amazing ....I've never been in a house so big. I bet it’s as tall as 40 large pizzas.”

 

“Yeaaaaaaahhhh.....weird way to measure something but really? You haven’t been in a mansion before?"

 

I looked back at her and nodded. “Yeap, this is like a whole new world….I mean look at how high the ceilings are! Probably 20 large pizzas.” I raised my hand as high as I could but of course, I wouldn’t be able to touch 20 foot tall ceilings.

 

"Again, a weird way to measure something.” She looked at me for a moment and chuckled a bit before saying something else. “You aren’t from around here huh?” she questioned with intrigue in her face seeing me in awe. I looked down at her and answered back.

 

“Arcadia? No, I’m from Diamond Bar.”

 

“D.Bar huh? I’m actually going to go down that way later since I have something to do.”

 

Hmm? She has business in Diamond Bar? I wonder why.

 

“Oh yeah? Well, it’s definitely a cosier place especially compared to here…..” I firmly stated.

 

“Because of all the mansions huh? I can see that hehehe...”

 

I nodded to confirm and wondered how many people actually lived in this place considering the size of the place.

 

“So it’s just you 2 and your parents who live here?”

 

“Basically but we do have other people who stay and go like the butler and some caretakers. The mansion has 7 rooms so yeah...it’s pretty huge.”

 

I just kept looking around at the various things in just the lounge room, imagining how interesting it must be to live in such a huge place.

 

“Anyway, I’ll get both my brother and Pops down here since I’m sure you have other things to do after this. You can sit down on the sofa for now or just look around.” She patted my shoulder and showed me to the sofa but I waved dismissively.

 

“It’s cool, I’m just gonna stand to shake these nerves a little…..”

 

She bowed and started walking towards the entrance hall towards the staircase before she waved at me excitedly.

 

“Well I wish you luck Hyewon! Be back in a jiffy!”

 

------

 

Tall and slender but well built in a black business suit. Stone-like face with intense eyes that burned through the soul. Short black hair that’s starting to grey a bit. That’s the best way to describe the man that stood in front of me with his tiny son beside him, no older than the age of 4 or 5. He bowed deeply to me and I followed suit in respect.

 

“Hello there. From what my daughter told me, your name is Kang Hyewon was it?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“Let’s get this ball rolling shall we?”

 

The man then waved for me to get on the piano as he watched me with his hands behind his back and I promptly obeyed. The audition was to play 3 songs to show my skill with 2 being classical showpieces and the 3rd being just a personal pick of any song. I was hoping Nako would be here but I guess she's busy....

 

Welp, here I go I guess….

 

-----

 

I was on edge….even from the corner of my eyes, I could see that he observed me and my hands like a hawk on the hunt. If anything, my nerves retreated from my body and waved goodbye with a white handkerchief with how nervous I was. After each piece, his son would clap happily as I sat there silently to prepare for the next song but the father remained silent….easily so since he was the Judge AND the Jury. 

 

------

 

After 20 or so minutes have passed or so, I finally finished playing all 3 and stood up. I gave him a 90 degree bow as my thoughts ran around endlessly in my head. He gave a snap to his finger and a butler came to take his son, leaving just the 2 of us left in the room.

 

He brought one hand towards his chin as he began rubbing it slightly, still keeping his laser focused gaze on me like a sniper waiting for the right moment to shoot. I wiped a small bead of sweat from my forehead, getting a bit hot from nervousness since the silence was slowly killing me.

 

My mind started to play the 3 songs in my head again to evauluate if I played them correctly, the first being “Solfeggietto” by Carl Phillipp Emanuel Bach. That piece was short, barely over a minute in length but was played very quickly as it moves my hands all over the whole piano in rapid succession. It was mostly to showcase my speed and precision and served as an appetite.

 

The 2nd piece: “Piano Sonata No.17, 3rd movement” also known as The Tempest by Ludwig van Beethoven. A calm and peaceful entry into something more torrential...or a storm in waiting to unleash as the pace grows more harsh as it goes on.

 

The last piece: “Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence” by Ryuichi Sakamoto, was one of my favorite piano pieces since it touched my heart and instantly felt nostalgic the first time I’ve heard it. A few years ago during a time when my father CMP episodes turned really bad during the winter time, he was stuck in a hospital and there was not much I could do while waiting for him to get better….finding this song struck a chord within me as we waited for his recovery. With it’s hauntingly beautiful opening, the melody always felt like watching snowfall endlessly on a winter night.

 

“Kang Hyewon.”

 

“Yes sir."

 

The silence afterward was deafening as he kept his gaze on me while his son tugged on his hand wanting attention. I had a hard time placing my gaze on him since panic started to swell up in my chest, causing my breathing to hitch a bit in anticipation. I began biting the bottom of my lip as I waited for his mouth to utter something….

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Anything.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

…..please?

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“Congratulations.”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

What?

 

My eyes shot wide open, not expecting to hear it honestly.

 

“Of the 5 people who came before you Kang Hyewon, you've passed the audition.”

 

What? What?! I PASSED?! I couldn't contain my shock but luckily, my face naturally looks bored most of the time so I hid my joy within as I screamed internally.

 

"Re-really?"

 

He gave a solid nod and gave me some rather quiet claps as his son mimicked him in similar fashion while laughing in a small voice.

 

“Subarashii...simply wonderful.”

 

“T-thank you Mr. Miyawaki, I look forward to teaching little Souta-chan and I’ll make sure it’ll be fun for him.”

 

He did a 90 degree bow and his stone like face finally broke into a smile. The hawk-like eyes from before seemingly disappeared miraculously in just seconds…..crazy. His son kept tugging on the hem his sleeve, wanting to be picked up by his father.

 

“No, thank you Ms. Kang. I’m just glad we found someone perfect on our first day of audition and someone as young and talented as you.”

 

“I’ve heard that from Mrs.Miyawaki also...is there a reason why I was chosen instead of an older pianist?”

 

He gave a hearty chuckle as he finally picked up his son and patted him on the head.

 

“Of course the older piano teachers before your audition had years more experience than you but we wanted someone more of your generation. You still have lots to learn yourself but that’s the beauty of teaching right? To grow and learn with your students. Plus this would benefit you more than them If I dare to say so myself.”

 

“And why is that?”

 

He raised one finger in the air to state his point. “Every one of those pianists were already well known and talented. They teach around Arcadia with much wealth to their name and are often sought after. Just from looking into your eyes, I can see you want to grow as a person….to experience new things.” He then pointed at me with a knowing smile. “Am I wrong or right?”

 

I nodded in agreement. “Yes….that’s correct sir. I didn’t think I would get this position honestly….but I took this job to know the next steps of my life will be. I don’t know where I’m going but I’m willing to walk forward wherever it takes me.”

 

“That is wonderful to hear Ms.Kang. Let’s hope we’ll have a wonderful working relationship for this job and the next hmm? We hope this will push you forward with your endeavors as best as we can.” he proclaimed. I did not expect to hear such a thing from a new employer, especially about me finding something else after this.

 

“Thank you Mr.Miyawaki. I was curious...do you play the piano yourself?”

 

Placing one hand on his chest, he answered. “Why yes, both me and my wife do play it and while we would teach our boy, we’re just too busy with our own work that we can barely be here.”

 

“Ahhhh...I see.”

 

The man walked toward the piano and began tracing the outline of the edges, admiring the craftsmanship of the beautiful instrument itself.

 

“While I loved playing it in my hay day, both our jobs have us work from early morning to late night so we rarely get to do the stuff we want anymore. Even at home, it’s mostly just Nako and Souta here besides a few caretakers to check in every once in a while.”

 

“What grade is Nako in?” I asked as I wondered where that small girl went.

 

His eyes shot from the piano to me. “Our beloved Nako?”

 

He let out a hearty laugh that echoed throughout the wide open room as he pointed to a few diplomas hanging on the wall. After his short laugh, he had a nostalgic look in his eyes as he beamed. “The young one has already graduated college.”

 

I could feel my brows arched upwards in surprise since she seemed like a super casual teenager for the most part. “R-really?! How old is she?”

 

“18.”

 

My mouth hung open and I slapped a hand over my mouth in amazement...such accomplishments for such a young age.

 

“I tend to see that reaction a lot but yes, she’s quite a smart child and pretty quick to learn things. She would’ve graduated earlier but she wanted to experience it a little longer since she always missed her friends. That child has a lot of thoughts in her mind and usually does whatever she wants nowadays. You’ll see her around a lot whenever you teach our boy and if you need anything, just ask her.”

 

I used my hand to shut my mouth and just nodded.

 

“Now for your wage, would you like to offer a suggestion or shall I just tell you how much?”

 

Instantly, I got out of my stupor and immediately set my mind on wages. “Uhhh….I think $25 is oka-”

 

“No...we’ll pay you $150 hourly and we’ll add extra after each round of the skill test.”

 

Welp….my mouth was left hanging again and now its even more wide open.

 

“.......$15-.....$150…? An hour? A-are you sure sir?”

 

He gave single solid nod to confirm. “Yes. You won’t be able to live off $25 an hour here in California, especially with a part time job. And yes, I know of the median a Piano Teacher earns but you aren’t working for the median, you are working for us, The Miyawaki Enterprise. We pride ourselves on making our workers happy and in return, we expect the same professionalism in their skills and crafts to help our family. With that said, I look forward to seeing how our little Souta will grow in his piano lessons.”

 

How is this happening? It seems everything right now seems like a dream from how well everything is going. I gave him a full bow for giving me this opportunity and smiled as wide as I can to show my appreciation.

 

"Thank you….thank you so much Mr. Miyawaki! I won’t let you regret your decision!”

 

“Your welcome Ms. Kang. We’ll look forward to working with yo-”

 

*THUD* *CLIK CLIK*.........................*CLIK CLIK*

 

“Ahh, she’s arrived.” The father stated yet not telling who has arrived.

 

Somewhere in the distance in the front of the house, an unknown voice was heard speaking as it came closer and closer to the front door while we looked towards the direction.

 

*beep beep* *click*

 

The security system clicked on the front door and soon, we heard it open, now hearing the voice loud and clear as the person finally stopped talking after a beep was heard.

 

“Sakura darling, you’re earlier than expected.” The father raised his voice a bit so that the person could hear him.

 

“Papa? I’ll be there in a second. And Is Nakoroni and Cheese ready for pickup? Sak-Uber is here.” a cheerful female voice answered him.

 

Papa? He had another daughter?

 

After hearing a couple noises coming from the shoe area, an unknown woman with a black face mask gracefully yet playfully danced in and I kid you not, the world slowed to a stutter as I made contact with her rather striking brown eyes. She had long dark brown hair that was bleached all the way to the tips, wore a blue designer cardigan sweater with a white T-shirt, denim short shorts, an expensive looking white purse and ended her outfit with a 3 tone white, grey and black sneakers. She stopped her dancing as soon as she saw me with her face growing slightly pink from embarassment most likely. I saw that she also held a paper bag in her hand with her phone in the other as she quickly slid it in her pocket.

 

“Sakura, would you come here for a moment? As for Nako, she’s out back with the usuals. Are you hungry darling?”

 

She nodded but kept her eyes on me as she paced towards us, stopping in front of her dad as she hugged him tightly while he returned the gesture.

 

“I was already in the city getting a bite to eat Papa.” She held the paper bag in the air and kissed it for some reason….I’m guessing it must be something delicious to be kissing a paper bag......I mean I do it too honestly.

 

“So, what did you want to talk to me about?”

 

“Ah yes, do you remember when me and your mother wanted a piano teacher for Souta?”

 

“Yes?”

 

He motioned his hand to his daughter towards me as I stood there a bit awkwardly from the unexpected visit.

 

“This is Kang Hyewon, she’ll be Souta’s piano teacher starting tomorrow. I already told you what we talked about yesterday if we found one so I’ll take my leave now. And Goodbye Ms.Kang, I’ll let my daughter handle the rest.”

 

“Of course Papa.” she answered as she now focused her eyes on me.

 

He bowed to me, his heel and headed towards the entrance hall until he disappeared, leaving the sound of thumps going up the staircase as he went up.

 

Leaving just me and his daughter behind, she side stepped towards me and scanned me with the curiosity of a cat as I got a bit flustered from her checking me out. Seeing her eyes from up close as how should I say…...a bit intimidating….yet mesmerising as well. After finishing her inspection of sorts, she held her hand out to shake mines to which I promptly did. Looking down at them, I noticed she wore a lot of bracelets for some reason...too many. With a firm shake, she barely squeezed my hands yet I felt her hand temble like they were in pain....or is it just a coincidence? She let go and for a brief moment, the bracelets moved a bit and I saw it: scars around the whole wrist. But why? How did sh-

 

“Hi there.” Her voice interuppted my thoughts instantly. It was light as a feather yet somehow deep...which was attractive honestly even though I wasn’t into girls….at least I think I’m not….am I?

 

“H-hello….my name is Kang Hyewon. It's a pleasure to meet you...”

 

“The name’s Sakura....Miyawaki Sakura. It’s a pleasure to…” She briefly pauses and then swiftly grabs a meat bun out of her paper bag and shoved it towards my face. “....meat you too.”

 

What? Did she just.....

 

“Meat you….kekeke. Get it?”

 

I wanted to chuckle but kept my face straight to not seem rude....especially with her scarred wrists still in my mind. She put the bun back in the bag and gave a small yet devilishly cute pout towards me as her brows grew sad since I didn’t react to her pun.

 

“…...I guess you don’t appreciate my fun bun pun?”

 

Fun….bun….pun? Is she a pun maker? Does that mean I can use my own pu-

 

A quick turn of her body snapped my attention away from my thoughts as she softly slapped her while rubbing it slightly.

 

"And I don't mean these buns." She gave me a weird wink…..if I can call it a wink....it's more like a blink honestly......cute. She brought one finger to her still masked mouth and fake it and placed it on her again making a sizzling sound.

 

Again, I was unsure on how to act since we’ve just met….let alone her being my new employer’s daughter. They always say first impressions count and honestly, I did not want to screw it up as I left my brain hanging, thinking of anything good or funny to say. Should I restart my brain? Should I just tel-

 

“….well this is embarrassing.....I guess you’re the cool silent type huh?”. Her face turned a bright shade of pink, covering her eyes and dropping her gaze from mine like a dropped quarter.

 

“N....n-no-no I...I didn-t..I”

 

Crap, why am I stuttering?!

 

*slap* *slap* She smacked her cheeks (her face this time) and looked back up to me with eyes narrowed and a serious face…...and what a serious face it was. Hawt…….wait….I didn’t just think that….did I?

 

“Okay, I’ll be professional then. Ms.Kang was it? Annyeong haseyo....I bet Nakoroni said that too right? Well...” Her voice tone changed into something deeper and to combo with her serious face......oh gawd......wait......no. I really do need to restart my brain it seems.....do I? Why do I keep questioning myself for these past few moments with her?!

 

“An...annyeong….”

 

She began to tug on the ear loop of her face mask and was about to pull it off. “....anyway, I’m your new bo-”

 

“...haseyouuuu doing?”

 

“-ss........boss.” Her face mask was no more and oh god.........she's super hot........wait.......did she just say.......no?

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Her eyes grew smiles...heck her own smile grew wide enough and almost became neighbors to her ears. What a smile it was though...

 

“Ms.Kang….are you trying to hit on your boss before your first day?”

 

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…..oh crap.