As Jessica was explaining the mystical properties of the hotel and the intricacies of its operations, Tiffany felt like she could finally put the events of the morning behind her, convinced that she had escaped being convicted of a crime she was not guilty of in the first place. She had Yoona to thank for that, who somehow convinced Jessica that Tiffany had cut herself (and was subsequently healed) after attempting to catch the sword that Taeyeon had knocked out of Yoona’s hand, which she cleverly covered in a dark leather glove to hide her wound. Jessica was visibly annoyed but told Tiffany to meet her at her office when she was ready.

“Do you have any questions?” Jessica asked, seemingly in a better mood than when she last saw her. Tiffany shook her head enthusiastically, excitement building. “I have one then,” Jessica said, crossing her arms as she leaned backwards on her chair, an eyebrow raised. “Anything,” Tiffany replied, yearning for any form of connection from her new boss. For the first time in her life, Tiffany was in the position to build friendships, no longer having to worry about the safety of those around her.

“How did you convince my oldest friends to lie to me?” Jessica asked, though there was no malice in her voice. She simply sounded sad. Tiffany felt her spirit deflate when she realised that she had not escaped her fate after all. “Yoona was curious to know if I could hurt her as well, so she cut her hand while I was holding her sword. I didn’t know she was going to do that,” Tiffany explained, feeling drained as the words left her. “I didn’t know she was going to lie to you either,” Tiffany added as she lowered her gaze, unsure if she should apologise.

“It’s not your fault. Stop acting so guilty and stop looking so sad,” Jessica lightly nudged Tiffany’s foot using hers till their eyes met once more. “I knew what you could do when I hired you. I made peace with the risks. I just didn’t think my friends would be so idiotic…” Jessica’s eyes narrowed, exasperated by the memory of the morning. “…that they thought they could lie to me.” Jessica scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief. “You have spent your whole live running away from danger. As if you’d be stupid enough to try to catch a sword.” Jessica broke into a fit of laughter, covering as she failed to compose herself. The whole situation was absurd.

Tiffany found herself smiling. Out of the three deities, Jessica seemed the most relatable, even though she could not quite put a finger on the reason. “Aren’t you glad you’re working for the most sensible one?” Jessica returned the smile as she raised her coffee mug. “Those two will drive you insane,” she stated as she took a sip of her drink. Yoona had centuries worth of bad ideas and Taeyeon was much too accommodating to ever say no. Even though there were countless times that Jessica was driven up the wall from the ridiculous antics of both Yoona and Taeyeon, she remembered those moments with fondness, realising how much she had missed them.

“I have one question,” Tiffany asked, feeling uncomfortable with the prolonged silence. Jessica seemed to have retreated to a world of her own. “Professional or personal?” Jessica asked, recounting the list of topics in her mind she would very much like to avoid, all involving Taeyeon. “A bit of both. It depends on how you look at it,” Tiffany leaned against her palm, pondering the question herself. “So Yoona is a grim reaper, Taeyeon is a tree deity, the previous owner Man Wol was a spirit and I was wondering…”

“You want to know what I am?” Jessica completed her sentence and Tiffany nodded eagerly. Jessica wasn’t sure if she trusted Tiffany enough to share her story. She was not as fortunate as Yoona or Taeyeon, who knew of their role in the afterlife within the first few decades. Jessica had spent most of her life not knowing who she was, which bore a certain kind of emptiness that was hard to fill. Most of her existence revolved around Taeyeon, who in contrast, had one of the biggest responsibilities any deity could have. When Jessica finally discovered the truth about herself, she threw herself into her work, as if she had to make up for the centuries wasted. It was inevitable that she ultimately lost herself. “You can’t be reckless. We can’t interfere with human lives,” Taeyeon had begged her. It was common knowledge that demons were former deities who crossed the line by actively changing the trajectory of human lives, either by shortening or prolonging them, though the rules remained vague. Taeyeon had chosen to draw the line herself, in which Jessica found hard to forgive.

“You don’t have to tell me,” Tiffany murmured, though it was loud enough to disrupt Jessica’s train of thought. “I suppose it’s kind of personal,” she concluded as she stood up and bowed. Jessica seemed too deep in her own head to continue their conversation. In many ways, she reminded Tiffany of Taeyeon. “Thanks for today. I’ll work hard,” Tiffany promised as she headed towards the door, memorising the room numbers of the guests she had to check on.

“Wait,” Jessica called out just as Tiffany was about to leave the room. “This hotel isn’t exactly the safest place for an inexperienced human. Unfortunately, I have to meet up with a grim reaper who might work for us.” Jessica sighed, reluctant to leave the young girl vulnerable. “Get Taeyeon to do your rounds with you,” she requested, feeling guilty when she remembered how Taeyeon could barely hide her excitement when Jessica had invited her to meet their new grim reaper together. “I like new people,” Taeyeon had said, explaining her enthusiasm, in which Jessica knew was a blatant lie.

“Sure!” Tiffany replied, unintentionally slamming the door behind her. “Sorry!” a high-pitched apology was heard echoing from the hallway seconds later, as if it were an afterthought. “Please babysit Tiffany today. Don’t let her near any sharp objects.” Jessica texted, having decided to give Taeyeon a heads-up.

When Jessica arrived at the café for the meeting, she found 7 new messages on her phone.

“Sorry I lied.”

“Also, sorry about eavesdropping.”

“Yoona says she’s sorry too.”

“Yoona now wants Tiffany to give us tattoos.”

“Tiffany said no.”

“Tiffany is kind of bossy.”

“I miss you.”

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Tiffany had listened patiently to the requests of each of the guests she visited, taking notes diligently in her pink notebook as the guests shared their life stories. Jessica had assigned her the easiest guests for her first day - the elderly who died peacefully. Most of their requests involved sending messages to their loved ones, seeing parts of the world they hadn't been able to while alive or getting answers to the unsolved mysteries in history. Ever so often, Tiffany would glance towards Taeyeon, seated at the corner of the room with her legs crossed, invisible to spirits, constantly checking her phone, almost looking like a bored teenager.

“Would you rather be someplace else?” Tiffany asked, after gently closing the door of the 6th guest they visited. She had expected to learn from Taeyeon and was surprised at the deity’s choice to remain unseen. It was both disappointing and distracting, considering how Tiffany had been looking forward to spending the day with Taeyeon.

“I’m sorry,” Taeyeon replied as she placed her phone in her back pocket. “You’re doing really well, and you don’t seem to need me at all,” she smiled with her thumbs up, though the whole gesture seemed forced. Her eyes darted around awkwardly, avoiding the disappointment in Tiffany’s gaze. “You’re right,” she admitted as she clasped her hands together, “I’ve just been slightly on edge after lying to Jessica. I’ve sent her seven messages and she hasn’t replied.” Taeyeon had regretted sending her last message, an obvious defiance to the ground rules they had set the morning itself. She was supposed to be focusing on the hotel, supposed to be helping Tiffany, but Taeyeon had overheard their conversation, had overheard Jessica’s laughter, and it was all she could think about.

“She’s busy, silly!” Tiffany exclaimed, amazed at how comfortable she felt with Taeyeon, enough to display annoyance and enough to tease. “You do know it’s rude to check your phone during meetings, right?” Tiffany had an eyebrow raised, finding it ironic that she was the one imparting lessons instead. “Once again, I apologise,” Taeyeon chuckled as she curtsied dramatically with her arms outstretched. “I meant it when I said you were doing well. You’re naturally good at this, T-Manager,” Taeyeon assured her while patting her shoulder.

“Thanks. Let’s do room 739 together this time,” Tiffany beamed, heading towards the elevator. “Or we could grab lunch?” Taeyeon offered, wanting to make it up to Tiffany. “The old man at room 739 doesn’t really have any requests, he just likes it when people listen to his stories. It would probably take hours.” Tiffany had intended to rush through her tasks for the day, desperately wanting to impress Jessica with her competence, but it seemed like Taeyeon needed the break more than she did, so she agreed.

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“We’re going out?” Tiffany froze after the elevator opened to reveal two rows of close to a dozen luxury cars on each side, separated by a yellow lighted lane. The basement had walls that reflected the purple neon lights on its edges, the most futuristic floor Tiffany had visited in the hotel so far.

“These were Man Wol’s. She had a thing for fancy cars,” Taeyeon said as she walked along the lane. “Which one would you like to drive?” She turned towards Tiffany and started walking backwards with her arms open, presenting the variety of options. Tiffany was still planted within the confines of the elevator, hesitant to step forward.

Taeyeon recognised the fear, one that she had seen within herself just two weeks ago. “I don’t think you should fear the outside world forever. It is where you belong and where you will eventually return to. I won’t let anything happen to you, don’t worry.” Taeyeon assured her as she gestured her come forward. Tiffany took a deep breath and started walking towards Taeyeon, admiring the cars as she passed. She decided on a red Audi and stepped into the driver’s seat, starting the engine as Taeyeon took the seat next to her.

They drove in silence for a long time, Tiffany’s nervousness evident throughout the ride. She was hyper-vigilant towards her surroundings, glancing her rear-view mirrors every opportunity she had. “Here,” Taeyeon said when the lights were red, offering Tiffany a laminated card with a pressed purple flower. “This is the flower from the tree in the hotel. If you keep this with you, I’ll always be able to find you.” Taeyeon explained, slipping it into the pocket of Tiffany’s blazer. She then the radio and reclined her seat backwards with her arms behind her head.

Tiffany felt the heaviness leave her, finally able to focus on the road ahead. She realised that she had been driving without a destination, but perhaps this had been the purpose of the drive all along. She glanced towards Taeyeon, who had her eyes closed, humming to the music. “Thank you,” Tiffany whispered as she moved the card deeper into her pocket.

Taeyeon’s phone buzzed repeatedly as Tiffany was turning towards a street that was lined with restaurants. She adjusted her seat hastily, the sudden movement interrupting the peace they shared. At the corner of her eye, Tiffany could see Taeyeon frowning. “What is it?” she asked, worried that they had taken too long a break.

“Jessica suspects that the new grim reaper was the one who took your sister. She’s…” Taeyeon couldn’t finish her sentence as the car swerved and rammed into a divider.

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I watched more than 20 Taengsic videos to prepare for this one scene, which didn't happen because I had to pick up the pace. 

Maybe in later chapters. Sorry!  

Thanks for the comments. Please stay safe and well.