>> Deep End by Cathedral Bells

7.30 am- Cho Mansion

It's been hours, she has her eyes glued on the PC screen, fingers dancing vibrantly on the keyboards. Sometimes, she pauses and then continues again. Her entire spacious desk is covered with mugs, the sun is peeking beside the dark grey curtain yet she is unsatisfied, still. 

"Developing a website is tough," she whispers in her mind. "Especially when a non-programmer like me must impress with words and graphics," she reaches for the nearest mug and notices the hot water has turned cold. Just when she rises from the gaming chair, one of the housekeepers knocks on her door room.

"Imme, it's time for breakfast," 

Hearing that, her eyes open wide then. "What? Already morning???" 

She rushes back inside her room and locks her eyes on the ticking clock. "Sheessh, I haven't sleep!" she curses and turns to the young woman holding the door opens, 

"Ms. Seo, can you bring the breakfast here? I'm running out of time," she asks and flashes an apologetic face to the maid. 

The young servant nods and bows before closing the door back. 

Breathing out hardly, Imme roams her eyes around and curses again. 

"Right, the tutor on 9 am, not 8," she murmurs before grabbing the bathrobe from the closet. As she struggles to remember what she needs to do on that day, Imme has disappeared into the bathroom. 

xxx

4.30 pm- Cho Building

"I'm rooting on you. Or just to be more specific, everyone is rooting on you, Imme. Take it for granted," 

"No need reminder, I listen to that phrase almost every day, Mrs. Jang. I'm well informed," 

"But I heard you want to be an intern," 

Imme frowns at the middle-aged woman. "Is it wrong???" 

Having her pale eyes looking back at the younger one, she chuckles. 

"No, not wrong. Just a strange decision from the next successor like you," 

A bit disappointed, Imme clicks off the pen and sighs deeply. "Look, Mrs. Jang, I really really appreciate you're being super honest with me, but here's one thing you should understand. I am not my father. And very much different from him too,"

Mrs. Jang studies Imme's face before she nods, "Maybe you're right, Imme. But you're wrong too," 

Imme lifts her eyebrows in confusion, "Pardon me?" 

"My job is to prep you as the next person in the succession line. Other than ethics, you must understand what professional is. Becoming an intern, trust me, won't help you much in climbing the ladders in this empire. You must view things as a leader, do not take everything just as simple as things inside your head," 

Her mind wanders off elsewhere when her private life assistant is preaching about life. She tries to concentrate but she thinks of herself more often at that moment. 

"Tell me about this website that you've been busy constructing these days," Mrs. Jang questions her, out of the blue, and out of the real topic too. "What profit do you enjoy from this job?"

Imme, weakly replies, "Nothing interesting, Mrs. Jang. Just a hobby. When I'm bored,"

In a little voice, Imme adds, "Daddy likes golf as a hobby. Why can't I have my own interest too?" 

Mrs. Jang sighs, "Who says you're not allowed to have a hobby? Everyone does have it, Imme. But don't put aside your responsibility. Your priority, do I need to remind it again?"

Only the chill wind from the blowing air-conditioner emerges in that room. Either Imme or Mrs. Jang speaks. 

"Alright, I'm going to talk about this with your father soon. Let's just hope he agrees," Mrs. Jang suggests as she notices Imme's sullen face. 

"And I'm telling you this too, dress as to how you should, Imme. Prejudice in this world has not yet come to an end. Put on something that makes people believe you're their next leader. Take this advice or leave it, it's all on you," Mrs. Jang finishes, taking off the glasses and glances at the fine young woman, who's been sitting in front of her since early in the morning. 

"Is there anything you want to share with me?" she tries to ask. 

Imme, avoiding Mrs. Jang's gaze- moves her eyes towards the outside view. She does have something to say. Indeed, there are so many things inside her head, jumbling and ruffling her thoughts together that caused her internal pain. But, being Imme, is not easy. 

"Thank you, Mrs. Jang. I will try my best then," she says and rises from the seat. She bows as low as she could, to respect the woman's position as her personal advisor since she can't remember. At the same time, hoping Mrs. Jang doesn't have the time to read her expression too. 

Mrs. Jang nods back before her eyes follow Imme's figure disappearance from the office room. 

"A complicated child, from a well-managed family. What's the odds of that?" she concludes her meeting with Imme briefly, inside her mind- without any voice out. 

xxx

>> Ghost Dream by Cathedral Bells

5.00 pm- Metropolitan Cafe, Gangnam District.

A cafe filled with the sounds of the clanking utensils and plates is Imme's next stop, after a long tiring day of "life and job revising with Mrs. Jang". She orders herself a large cup of iced lemon tea and picks a small table closest to the washroom, before inhaling an amount of air. 

Restless, Imme waits patiently alone for her order to arrive. She's still in her office attire, which not likely appealing in her advisor's eyes and even her short hair is still neatly combed. There's nothing interesting to look at in the cafe so Imme just sits there, doing nothing. 

Then, someone's face appears suddenly between the flashes of her blinks. 

She pulls out her cellphone, unlocking it and logging into her personal Instagram account. 

Shuhua's latest post catches her intention when she's scrolling through the feed. Instantly, she pauses and stares at the new photo. 

"What a beauty," Imme comments, smiling as she makes a double tap on the screen. But she frowns then, seeing Shuhua's caption is actually in Chinese characters. 

"What did she say though?" Imme guesses and continues on scrolling.  She's so deep in that social media until the cafe worker approaches the table with a tall glass of iced lemon tea. 

"Please enjoy it, sir, and have a nice day!' the cafe worker bows and smiles brightly before excusing herself. Imme doesn't even get a chance to correct her gender or to say "thank you" in return. 

Slowly sipping to the cold drink, Imme begins a quick self-reflect session.

She observes herself for a while. Checking her face from the reflection of her phone screen until slightly touching the outfit she has on her body. 

"You're not more than looking like a half-man and a half-woman. You're confusing people, Imme. Don't blame them if they are having a hard time recognizing your true gender," Mrs. Jang's words echo clearly then. 

She has a hard time describing what she feels with what she thinks about her own self, not just about people who always misunderstand her as a man. 

Imme switches to a clueless state as she senses a bitter taste from her favorite drink. Is it because she's energy drained, lack of sleep, or... not in her right mind? 

Forcing herself to finish it no matter what, Imme releases a long sigh before leaving the place. She plans to roam around without any specific direction, hoping she can come back right to her senses. 

Rather than driving back home, Imme stands still, like a statue between the crowd passing by the busy street. She watches how the traffic light controls all the vehicles on the road. She observes how every stranger's expression changes and shifts as they cross from the different sides. And she lands her ears wide opened to each sound produced, where all come from various sources too. 

Only when both her hands feel an absolute cold and the temperature is freezing, Imme decides, it's just the exact time to return home. 

xxx

10.30 pm- Cho Mansion

She applies the serum lightly on her face while listening to her favourite K-RnB playlist from her phone. Sometimes she hums along, as she tries to complete her night skincare routine diligently. Glad that she's already in her pajama and ready to hit the bed, a sudden video call from her cousin, Miyeon disturbs her pre-rest session. 

"What do you want?" Imme asks after she receives the call then Miyeon's face appears.  

"So arrogant! Yah can you be nice to me one day???" Miyeon's loud voice almost explodes her eardrums, then Imme grunts. 

"Okay-okay, my bad," Imme lowers her voice and looks at Miyeon on the camera. "What is it? I'm super sleepy you know? Haven't sleep since last night," 

Miyeon then replies, 

"Unnie, my birthday is less than a day. I got it if you're too busy to remember but please at least be at the party for me?" 

That's when a pang of sudden guilt strikes her. Imme hisses to herself, mentally, knowing she can't recall any plan for her cousin's birthday. 

"Miyeon-nie, the first thing you have to know, this week is hell. But don't worry, I'll be there tomorrow okay? Erm.. and I'm very sorry," she apologizes with a serious face. 

Laughing, Miyeon claims, "Yah were you even sincere saying sorry??? Gosh, look Shuhua, my unnie is weird today!" then she shifts her phone camera to her roommate, who's been sitting quietly on her bed. 

Shuhua smiles when she sees Imme on the screen. Waving her hand, she greets the latter politely, 

"Hello Imme unnie, how are you doing there?" 

Imme tries putting on a straight face but failed when she sees Shuhua's smiling sweetly. Smiling back, Imme replies, 

"Hello yeah, doing fine here, Shuhua-sshi. You're going to sleep right? Me too, but I just realized I forgot my dear sister's birthday. Can you tell her that I'm not sorry at all?" both of them laugh then, making Miyeon pouts her lips. She shifts back the camera to her face, 

"Yah! I don't even care if you're sorry, Imme! I called because I want a gift!" Miyeon shouts, directly to the mic of her phone. 

"Stop it, Miyeon, I'm going deaf!" Imme warns, holding her left ear. "Yaishhh, okay I'll get you something tomorrow! What do you want? Jjajangmyun? Jjampong?" 

Hissing back at Imme, "Who gives those as a birthday gift, you clever punk? Hish, forget it! My daddy said as long as you want to come then fine!" 

Although laughing uncontrollably, Imme is able to nod vigorously at her younger cousin. When the laughter subsides, Imme apologizes again. 

"Don't get mad easily, Miyeon-ah. You know it's not easy to be me, right?" 

After a quick brief silence among them, she hears Miyeon's slow voice. 

"Yeah... I know, and I'm sorry too, for disturbing you," 

"Hmm.. it's fine. My bad, I can't remember it's already your birthday tomorrow. Blame Mrs. Jang since that old nut is always super serious about company thing," Imme murmurs, as she put her phone vertically in front of the mirror on the vanity table. Sitting on the wooden stool, Imme stares at Miyeon's virtual face. 

"I don't expect others to understand, but if you understand me is always enough, Miyeon-ah. Don't get sulky okay? Unnie is very sorry and will get something special for you tomorrow, I promise," she tries to win her back by raising her palm, as to swear an oath.

"If you say so, well... Let's wait and see how, tomorrow Cho Shin Mi," Miyeon says, in her suspicious tone. "To cheer you up, I'm going to reveal that we have someone special coming too," 

"Who?" 

Miyeon shifts her camera to the back and letting Imme sees her roommate for a second before she shifts back to the selfie mode. 

"I'm not saying any name, you figure it out yourself!" 

Imme flinches, "Yah, stop fooling around. I'm getting drowsy now. Let's hang up," 

Miyeon holds her laugh, knowing Imme is blushing hardly after she shows her a quick picture of Shuhua on her hostel bed, minding her own business. 

"Alright, Imme, have a nice dream and see you tomorrow!" 

"Yah you're so loud!" Imme warns, trying to shush her down. "Tell uncle and auntie I will be there after office time and yes see you tomorrow, Eiffel Tower nose!" 

"Shuhua said good night too!" Miyeon screams again before she ends the call. 

Chuckling, Imme locks her phone screen. Glancing for the last time, she stares at her own reflection. 

"Really, is it enough if only she understands me?"

*her cellphone chimes*

Imme glances at the screen, releasing a stressful sigh afterward. She opens the text box and reads the new message from Mrs. Jang, 

"1. I have sent to your house, a set of clothes, suitable for your first day tomorrow. 
 2. Mr. Cho approved your request to join the creative department as their new intern.
 3. You have to be ready for your first interview with Milennia Magazine at 9 a.m, by a part-time journalist named Ms. Yu Jimin. Avoid discussing your private life- remember you're one of the main images now. 
 4. Focus, Cho Shin Mi," 

She lays her skinny body on the smooth mattress then. Staring up to the vivid light from the ceiling, Imme practices a breathing session a few times before her eyes start to feel heavy. 

Almost drifted to dreamland, her final thought on that day echoes, 

"No good luck or congratulations from anyone. What a sad life,"