Genre: Drama, Slice of Life

Summary: Eunbi is aiming for the 'Best Worker' awards which comes in the form of promotion if she manage to bag it. Thus, she put on her act and treat everyone like an angel, putting aside her seething anger towards these ignorant fools who clearly tried using her for their benefits. Everyday, Eunbi would go to the rooftop and pour out her anger before returning to her acting but one day, her little facade is seen by an odd-ball which is known as Kang Hyewon. They made a deal where Hyewon get to make a request per day in exchange for keeping Eunbi little secret.

Word Count: 8477

Hashtag: #IntoTheKangBiVerse_RequestOfLove

Request of Love

“Ms. Kwon can you help me with this work?”

A timid intern, donning a high ponytail nervously approached a woman who exudes intense charismatic aura, paired with her attractive medium length blonde hair. She side-eyeing the intern with her round, dazzling hazelnut eyes scanned the poor girl making the innocent-looking new trainee gulped hard. People will definitely misunderstand the situation if they didn’t know Eunbi as she does appear quite terrifying during the first encounter.

I’m sure that I'm as good as dead meat. How can I be so overly confident to approach her with ease?

Opposite from what the intern thought, a sudden smile carved on Eunbi’s face, softened the atmosphere by tenfold which sprayed a sense of relief inside the girl’s consciousness. Just like what other senior workers said, Eunbi is literally amazing with her work and has such wonderful communication skills. The older woman is quite amiable after exchanging a few talks and by the end of her session of quick learning with Eunbi, the intern is so sure that she will enter Kwon Eunbi’s fan club later on.

“Thank you very much, Ms. Kwon! May I offer you lunch to express my gratitude?”

“That’s sweet of you but I’ll pass. I am having an intermittent fast for now, thanks for offering.”

Although she felt a little bit down for not being able to grow closer with Eunbi, the intern nodded and bowed before leaving Eunbi’s cubicle, scampering towards her own place with a racing heart. Eunbi just put on her attractive smiles while warmly greeting everyone as she headed out for her little secret session on the rooftop, away from people.

It took her approximately a couple of minutes to reach the peak of this 30-storey building which had a picturesque garden of its own, courtesy for the CEO who loves greenery. Walking through this garden which is usually empty most of the time, Eunbi slithers around a secluded place which only known to her before dropping her smile.

“What the , how can they just hire an intern who didn’t even know how to use a damn Microsoft Word?”

Screaming on top of her lungs, Eunbi vents her pent up frustration which scares a flock of pigeons away. Here, she is free to express herself, cursing her own life for being the normal human who is filled with dissatisfaction of how the world is ing toying around with people who struggle to make an end meet like her. To be honest, she loved her job, very much but Eunbi had different opinions towards her fellow colleagues. On the surface, they seem to praise her and even idolize her for often performing well with her job but Eunbi also aware the very same people also spread some nasty rumor about her.

“At least make that damn increment more than 5%! Go to hell with this distorted money capitalist company!”

She took another fresh intake of oxygen before continuing channeling her inner frustration for the day. Eunbi felt somehow relaxed as she shouted, “Why would I only aim for the Best Worker when I can even be the damn manager?! Even now I am doing that motherf*cker’s job! it!”

Her shoulder did feel lighter as she yelled her last batch of pent up anger. The deafening silence sure provided some sort of comfort for Eunbi and she took her sweet time leaning on the black coated railing while staring into space. A lot of thought runs through her mind as she slowly picks up her lunch’s box consisting of several pieces of fruits as well her favorite purple 1L tumbler containing Sprite, Eunbi’s signature sugar induced drink.

“Whew, that sure blows some steam off my chest.”

Chuckles escapes as she turns away from the railing, ready to start her lunch for real just to abruptly halt upon seeing an uninvited presence standing like a statue in front of her. The stoic face seems fazed as their gaze collided briefly. Eunbi can feel something coarse stuck inside her esophagus as she tried acting nonchalant and putting on a friendly face despite her messy hair.

“Hey there, I’ve never seen you around here. First time on the rooftop?”

The beauty with stunning straight dark brown hair just stares back at Eunbi while clenching on her phone. At the sight of that device, Eunbi got a rush of restlessness surging inside her as this strange woman seemed to ignore Eunbi’s greeting. Suddenly, she heard her own voice echo throughout the rooftop as a video of hers is being played through the phone.

No sh*t, how come this woman ended up here? Wait, . She recorded all of that?

“This is new. I always thought that you are an emotionless android.”

That’s rich, coming from the woman with a mystified voice who is currently showing no sign of emotion on her very own face; or that is what Eunbi thought as she tried putting on her poker face while strutting closer towards this annoyingly attractive gal. She bit her tongue for a bit before confronting this stranger.

“Name your price. What do you want from me?”

“Are you sure to ask me that?”

“Well, what else can I say. You got that video to blackmail me, right? From your words alone, it seems that you somewhat know about me even when I didn’t even know you.”

When this woman snorted as she covered her thin sweet colored lips, Eunbi can definitely tell that something is off. How come this woman suddenly appeared on this rooftop when Eunbi already confirmed that no one usually comes up here for the past few months? She couldn’t help but be wary about this peculiar woman.

“I’m Kang Hyewon, literally being hired together with you a couple of years ago though I ended up in a different department.”

Upon hearing Hyewon introduced herself, Eunbi couldn’t help but squinted, racing her own brilliant brain to trace this very name. After spending a few solid seconds staring at each other, Eunbi finally remembers something about Hyewon. She let out a gasp as she massaged the bridge of her curved, pointy nose.

“Yeah, your name rings a bell. So what did Kang Hyewon want to do with me?”

Kang Hyewon, an ethereal beauty which easily surpassed Eunbi's own visual but instead of being gushed over like Eunbi, this woman had such weird rumors circling her. Hyewon is such an odd-ball, rejecting any offer from colleague to be friends, always being aloof and took no interest about people. She also always be the first one to bolt away after working hours and never spare any effort to socialize with people, unlike Eunbi. If she can put it into simpler words, Hyewon is the very opposite version of Eunbi. Thus, she is perplexed when Hyewon suddenly turns up on this rooftop and somehow records Eunbi’s self love ranting session.

“Calm down, tigress. I don’t want to complicate things though I must say that this video is accidentally recorded while I’m just doing some vlogging.”

“And why would I believe in your words?”

“What do you take me for? A criminal whose words are filled with lies? I had my own channel for your information, give it a check.”

Knowing that she will go nowhere to keep on questioning Hyewon, Eunbi pulled out her own smartphone and searched for Hyewon’s channel as per the girl’s request. Amazement filled Eunbi as she saw a lot of aesthetically attractive videos with a certain all smiling woman who looked wonderful. She needed to blink at least thrice just to ensure that her eyes didn’t play some trick on her. Hyewon looks awfully different from this real life version of herself who seems void of any emotion. Clicking on the tab to close, Eunbi ran her gaze again to meet Hyewon’s pair of stunning eyes.

“Alright, let’s just assume that what you said is correct but you sure won’t just delete that video, right?”

“You’re smart, I like that.”

“Just spit out what you want already. Stop beating around the bush.”

“A little bit fussy but I think I can handle it.”

Running out of patience, Eunbi pulled Hyewon’s collar, dragging the astonished woman closer towards her face as she stabbed the woman with a fiery gaze while gritting her teeth. Rationality almost leaves her mind and Eunbi ensures to utilize the last bit of it wisely before she goes into her crazy mode.

“Speak. It. Out.”

“Alright, alright. I get it. Geez, such a temper.”

Hyewon sniggered as Eunbi let her loose, heaving a deep sigh as she brought her palm on the nape. She cleared for a bit before mustering some confidence into herself to spout some outrageous idea which makes Eunbi wish that she at least gave a good slap to Hyewon when she had the chance a few moments ago.

“I will keep this video a hush and in return, you must fulfill my request once per day. How’s that sounds?”

***

“Ms. Kwon, you look pale. Are you okay?”

A concerned voice can be heard echoes behind her which forced Eunbi to tear her attention away from the computer. She sees a certain worried intern from earlier standing skittish behind her. Sighing internally, Eunbi gestured to the intern to sit beside her while offering a weak smile.

“Nothing much, I’m just feeling under the weather. What can I help you with?”

“Oh, I want to submit this review paper to you and…”

The intern’s words suddenly being cut off when a certain posh woman appeared by Eunbi’s cubicle while leaning casually, flashing her charming smile for Eunbi and the intern.

“Hey, Sakura. I didn’t see you there. Your supervisor is calling for you.”

“O-oh! Is that so? Thanks for telling me, Kang-chan!”

As soon as the doe-eyes intern scrambles away, Hyewon nonchalantly occupies Sakura’s seat, making Eunbi winced as the strong scent of Victoria Secret’s Midnight Bloom hits her senses. Normally, Eunbi would offer a friendly smile towards a fellow colleague just to create an amiable atmosphere but she just can’t stand Hyewon’s presence. This dazzling lady somehow manages to tick Eunbi’s off with her presence.

“Well, since you ran away earlier, I couldn’t clearly hear your answer.”

Crossing her slender legs, Hyewon appeared more charismatic than Eunbi can remember. However, she refuses to be pressured under this woman’s dominance.

“Are you crazy? We are in the middle of the office right now, what are you doing in my department?”

Whispering urgently, Eunbi widened her eyes in disbelief at Hyewon who looked indifferent despite just randomly popping up in Eunbi’s cubicle.

“Don’t mind those menial details, Eunbi. I got my own ways. So what’s your answer?”

“Ugh, you sure are persistent for someone who is always minding her own business.”

“Hmm, what will people think if this video accidentally landed on their desktop first thing in the morning?”

“Shut it, alright, okay. I’ll do what you want.”

“Attagirl. So my first request is to get your number, give it now.”

Eunbi blinked in confusion, clearly didn’t anticipate this kind of request coming from Hyewon. She expects the girl to ask her for some money or things like that but somehow, Hyewon is doing something unexpected. Heaving a deep breath, Eunbi punched her numbers on Hyewon’s phone before connecting it into a call.

“What are you doing?”

Intrigued by Eunbi’s sudden action, Hyewon stared in amusement at the woman who had this cute penchant of biting her tongue while focusing all her attention on the phone. Suddenly, there’s some vibration inside Eunbi’s drawer and Hyewon is quick to recognize her number which appeared there. Smile creeps on her face, realizing that Eunbi is unexpectedly giving away her number easier than Hyewon’s thought.

“There, already saved your number in mine and you got what you want.”

“Perfect. Toodles~”

Eunbi let out a small grunt after ensuring that the peculiar girl already exited her department. She somehow regretted her carelessness earlier to not check the rooftop thoroughly before channeling her rampage. Maybe today isn’t her lucky day but looking at the bright side, weekend is approaching soon and maybe she can get away from Hyewon’s request for a couple of days which boosted Eunbi’s mood. She hummed in joyous manner, dancing her fingers across the keyboard while running a few plans inside her mind on how to spend her fabulous weekend away from Hyewon.

***

Buzzing on her phone disrupts Eunbi’s deep sleep as the device is ringing non-stop. She groans in frustration, cursing whoever dares to disturb her moment of peacefulness. Using tips of her fingers to venture this Queen-sized bed, reluctant to spare any effort in opening eyes just yet. Upon touching the cold metallic object, Eunbi skillfully slides to shut the screaming phone.

“Yena, I swear if I hear anything ridiculous on my holiday-”

“Wake up sleeping beauty. I book us a short trip to Japan!”

The monotonous yet charming voice able to jolt Eunbi away from her drowsiness, knocking over her favorite Piglet plushie straight to the floor.

“What? Who in the world lets you decide that?”

She grumbles while tattering and picking up the fallen plushies, proceeding waddling her way towards the bathroom. She barely knows Kang Hyewon but Eunbi knows that as a decent human being, she will at least hear out what the latter would say face to face while looking as fresh as cucumber.

“Oh look at this, can you believe that there’s a woman who looks exactly like you cursing inside a video?”

“Okay, alright. I’m joking. Come and meet me first at my place.”

“Great, just send me the location and I’ll arrive in a few minutes.”

She screams at the wall as soon as the call ends. Sliding off her phone onto the beige coffee table, Eunbi runs towards the shower, taking a quick bath before hastily putting on her casual clothes. She didn’t have to wait long before the door bell’s rang, revealing Hyewon with a brown package containing breakfast.

“Well, I guess you still didn’t have anything, right? Let’s talk over some food.”

“That’s unexpectedly nice of you.”

Hyewon cackles as she invites herself into Eunbi’s safe haven, sauntering straight towards the kitchen.

“Oh trust me, you just didn’t know me well enough. Not yet.”

“Spare your thoughts from the possibilities of us being bestie because we obviously won’t”

“We’ll see about that. Let’s just have our fill, I’ll help you to pack up later.”

“How confident are you to assume that I will join you?”

“Of course you will. I am here to kidnap you, alright?”

Eunbi sunk into her chair while throwing daggers of stares towards Hyewon who acted nonchalant as she wolfed down her food. Sipping her drink empty, she then marches towards Eunbi’s bedroom to pack up, which is protested by Eunbi.

“Tell me three solid reasons to go with you!”

Crossing her arms, Eunbi was barely able to stop the taller woman from invading her private property. Hyewon jerked her eyebrows at Eunbi, mouth twitching for a bit as she tilted her head to peek on Eunbi’s room.

“First, we have a deal of you granting any request of mine. Second, I have to record my Vlog which is supposed to be ready but somehow is ruined by someone and lastly, you obviously need a break from city life.”

The rabbit-like woman didn’t anticipate the words coming from Hyewon. How can this odd-ball be so considerate towards her when they both barely know each other? She stood rooted to her place, letting Hyewon pass through and picking up her attire for their short vacation. Well, Hyewon has a point. Eunbi did have a passing thought of going somewhere more serene but didn’t get much chance to do so as she just loves the comfort which her bed provides during the weekend.

“We are all set, let’s go!”

Before Eunbi realized, she already was being swept away by Hyewon’s momentum. She isn’t sure why she followed this girl on her random trip. Well, it’s not like they are a friend too for her to just agree with Hyewon’s plan but Eunbi knows that her heart is yearning for some adventure too. Who knows, maybe she will be able to enjoy her vacation albeit spending it with the unpredictable Hyewon.

***

Spending an hour in the plane usually won’t make Eunbi this exhausted but for some reason, she feels like just finishing a 10 km marathon. Slapping her face with both palms, Eunbi manages to snap herself out from her overly imaginative mind. Using the corner of her eyes, Eunbi steals a peek at the source of her unsettled feelings who is having a fluent conversation in Japanese. Not only Hyewon is dragging Eunbi abroad without her consent, that girl also dares to pay Yena just to cough up Eunbi’s passport details which makes this trip possible. What is this feeling inside her chest?

‘Maybe this is my murderous intent towards a certain duck. Yep, that must be it.’

Snapping her fingers, Eunbi figured out that the butterflies in her stomach might be fluttering due to her rage towards Yena who easily sells her private information to someone. Well, she needs to consider whether to roast or boil Yena once she is back in Seoul two days later. Nodding to herself, Eunbi is astounded by her brilliant mind but for some reasons, her blush still didn’t dissipate.

“For someone who sneakily kisses me on the plane, you sure look energetic.”

A teasing voice chimes behind her which makes Eunbi jolted. She rushed towards Hyewon and planted her right palm on the older woman’s lips, an attempt to keep the girl from making Eunbi reminiscing those embarrassing moments again. Muffles can be heard from Hyewon which Eunbi interprets as a sign of dissatisfaction for her action.

Her whole body froze when she felt a pair of arms snakes around her waist which made Eunbi momentarily lift her hands away from Hyewon’s lips. Everything happens in blur and when she manages to finally grasp reality again, all Eunbi can sense is a pair of soft lips planted on her left cheek. Producing some indescribable noise, Eunbi stepped back and flushed away, shooting her glares towards Hyewon who was cackling merrily.

‘Y-you! That’s ual harassment!”

“What? I just do what friends always do. Unlike someone, I still have the courtesy not to kiss right on lips when one is vulnerable.”

“I told you that it’s an accident.”

“Gee, who can even guess that Kwon Eunbi had such naughty side?”

“I do not!”

She really hates Hyewon’s guts for teasing her. Things aren't going as her words at all. In reality, Hyewon is dozing off as soon as the plane takes off and ends up on Eunbi’s sharp shoulder. Even though they barely knew each other, Eunbi thought that Hyewon might develop some muscle strain if she kept on sleeping in weird posture. Thus, Eunbi is kind enough to carefully place some pillow necks for Hyewon and tries pushing the girl to her seat back. Little did she anticipate that the plane would arbitrarily shake which pushed her forward and accidentally landed her lips against Hyewon. Well, landing is kinda mild if she considered that she literally crashed Hyewon’s mouth.

“Jokes aside, let’s go! I have already booked a rental car for us!”

Unlike Eunbi who couldn’t even look straight into Hyewon’s eyes after the incident, the latter seems to be perfectly fine although Eunbi is sure she almost squashed Hyewon from the impact of her fall. The more Eunbi spent her time with Hyewon, the less she was able to rely on her logical reasoning. This is a first for her dealing with someone who is absolutely showing no sign of consistency like other normal humans who are filled with worry.

Hyewon is like a wind, doing everything in her own way and at her original pace. She didn’t even give a damn about others and conduct herself freely. As she is too busy pondering about Hyewon, Eunbi isn’t aware of her surroundings until she bumped into a girl wh