Seulgi came from archaic parents who still believed in magic, nature phenomenal which indicated or ignited something, and that there’s something they could do to change bad premonition through fortune-telling. It started with Seulgi’s father whose name is Seung Gi. He had a reliable forecaster whom he believed could predict his future and even changed it, named Park GYeri.

 

This forecaster or usually called a fortune teller was well-known in Seung Gi village. He used to be a poor man who could only afford rice with modest omelette as breakfast, lunch, and dinner until he paid GYeri a visit, asking how it’s possible to change his fortune into a rich man. GYeri said to him that she had to be married with a woman whose name has a similar syllable to him. In short, after that, he met a man named Dam Bi and immediately married her despite their wide since he’s 8 years older just so he could change his fate and hopefully his family as well.

 

Merely 2 years after the marriage, his fate had changed for the better. He then became a successful businessman and bought his family a house, not that big but enough for him and his families who consisted of Hong Gi as the eldest, Seulgi in the middle, and finally Joon Gi as the youngest. Yes, even his children had similar names just so he could maintain their family’s prosperity and yes, every now and then Seung Gi still visited Park GYeri just so he could plan their family’s future.

 

It’s not that Seung Gi didn’t believe in God or anything but he would just feel more secured when he had told his share of stories regarding his wife, children, and personal matters to GYeri and received the advice he needed. Undoubtedly, he would believe in GYeri and do as he was told, regardless of how foolish it was. And do not worry for he never once tangled in an absurd relationship with GYeri slash affair. He was a loyal partner and so was GYeri.

 

One day Seung Gi told GYeri that his oldest son had a girlfriend named Hyomin and he told GYeri about that. GYeri told him that this Hyomin was only after his family fortune but he could act very well that Hong Gi wouldn’t realize her true motives. GYeri told him to sprinkle salt in front of Hong Gi’s bedroom door and continuously spray water through the black hose in front of her house in the middle of the night for 7 days in a row. As foolish as it was sounded, he did that with discipline and right within the 8th day, suddenly Hong Gi told him that Hyomin was found cheating on him and he immediately broke the relationship up.

 

Another family problem came a year after where Seulgi suddenly had fallen ill for no reason. One night, Seulgi felt her body felt itchy from her head to her toe that she couldn’t even have a wink of sleep. Seulgi thought it was merely normal allergic but after two weeks and it hadn’t gone, Seung Gi became panic. He and his wife brought her to the hospital and the doctor said Seulgi needed to be thoroughly assessed because there’s an indication that Seulgi had an autoimmune.

 

Seulgi was hospitalized for days but still, there’s no updated news from the doctor. Seung Gi felt desperate and so he again went to GYeri to tell her about his daughter’s illness. GYeri calmed him down, telling her that he needed to feed Seulgi only with plain porridge for 5 days and right after drink water which had been enchanted by GYeri’s mantra, also for 5 days in a row. He was obedient and voila, right within the 6th day, the result was out and it was negative. Instead, she was diagnosed as merely clinical urticarial.

 

His children grew up as time went by and since their father strongly believed in this physic called GYeri, automatically his children were affected and trusted GYeri as well. However, their mother, Dam Bi was a logical woman so she didn’t believe in magic thingy but she never prohibited either Seung Gi or her children to visit GYeri.

 

Amongst the others, Seulgi was very similar to her father, strongly believed in GYeri because she thought GYeri was the one who made it possible for her to recover from the scary illness. Yes, Seung Gi told Seulgi how he went to GYeri in order to heal Seulgi’s sickness, and as simple as that, Seulgi believed in magic too. And this is where the story shall begin.

---

 

“Yeri-ah, do you think it’s possible for me to enter that prestigious company? I am nervous and the interview is scheduled for next week. We’re just freshly graduated and I am lacking in experience! What am I gonna do about it, Yeri-ah? Help me.” Seulgi pleaded to her friend, who’s also a daughter of GYeri. So of course, Yeri too had the magic in her although not as perfect as her mother, or more like only could be relied on in rare circumstances.

 

“Hmm. Wait, let me conduct meditation first to know what you should do to be accepted in that company, Unnie.” Yeri told Seulgi. She then sat cross-legged and made some space between Seulgi and her. They were at Seulgi’s house, playing as usual since they had been best friends since high school era years ago.

 

Accidentally, GYeri’s daughter was younger by one year than Seulgi so it’s understandable if they often played and hang out together. Seung Gi told Seulgi to approach Yeri since he believed she would have reliable magic capacity inherited from her mother. Little did he know that actually Yeri was careless and that’s what made her much different from her mother.

 

“Of course, Yeri-ah. I will give you the time. Let me know when you’re done.” Seulgi nodded thankfully. Well, she was superstitious just like her father but added gullible in it and it would be perfect to describe how Seulgi was.

 

Seulgi left her bedroom and went to the kitchen to grab some snacks and prepare hot coffee for Yeri. It was her best friend’s habit that after meditating, she would drink black coffee with exactly one teaspoon of sugar. Seulgi never asked why because she truly believed that there were some circumstances in magic that couldn’t be described in words. 15 minutes later she walked back to her bedroom bringing the food and custom-made coffee and it turned out that Yeri had done with her meditation.

 

“You’re done?” Seulgi put the plates full of snacks and cookies, as well as the coffee on the bedside table.

 

“Yes. No need to be worried, Unnie. You will be absolutely accepted in that company but under one condition.” Yeri smiled confidently.

 

“What is it? I will do anything! It’s my biggest dream to work in that company, Yerimmie!” Seulgi pleaded, clasping her hands together.

 

“It’s kinda hard though. Are you sure?” Yeri asked in return.

 

“Yes, I am.” Seulgi nodded her head immediately. Why would she want to work in that company? Simply because it’s the tallest building in the whole of Seoul and since her height was short so she should at least work in a tall building. Secondly, because her crush from college worked there too and last but not least because she had fallen in rigid flammable in black ball form called as coals that she would love to work in that prestigious famous mining company.

 

“Right, Since you insist, I will tell you, Unnie. You have to take a bath at a public restroom, a real bath completed with your hair rinsed with shampoo sharply at 8 pm on Wednesday.” Yeri explained and Seulgi had a blank face hearing the statement or more like the condition coming out from Yeri’s mouth.

 

“Are you sure? Like really really sure that it’s the condition?” Yeri shrugged her shoulder.

 

“It’s up to you to believe in me or not.” Yeri stated super confidently.

 

“No no no, I do believe in you but you know it’s not easy to do. It’s embarrassing to have a bath in a public restroom, Yerim-aah. Isn’t there anything else I can do aside of that? Can’t I do it in the public bathroom instead?” Seulgi asked. She never heard people would take a bath in a merely public restroom and she didn’t know what people would do if she recklessly does that regardless of how desperate she was to join the company.

 

“No, you can’t. Nothing to be worried about though. You can always apply to other companies, Unnie. It’s not that you’d be jobless if you cannot join that company.” Yeri casually advised. She then took the cup of coffee and carefully sipped it since it’s still hot.

 

“No. I don’t want other companies. If it must be done then I will do it.” Seulgi said with full of determination reflected from her eyes.

 

“Oh come on, Unnie. There’s no guarantee your salary in other companies will be smaller anyway.” Yeri sighed.

 

“I know but it’s not about the salary.” Seulgi shyly answered.

 

“So what is it about?”

 

“It’s just.. It’s been my dream since we graduated from college, Yeri-ah.” Seulgi lied. She never told anyone about her crush because she was shy about it.

 

“Okay then if you say so. Let’s watch the movie now, Unnie. I am too tired to tell fortunes again.” Yeri stood up and grabbed the remote. With that, they spent the rest of the day like normal best friends, and as a best friend, Yeri never once charged an invoice for her services to Seulgi. She would just ask a treat from Seulgi and the shorter woman would always provide her with that.

---

 

“Yerimmie, I got accepted!” Seulgi ran to Yeri and hugged her best friend, crushing her body to Yeri.

 

“Ugh!” Yeri was having a stomach ache when Seulgi suddenly rang the bell at her house and hugged her.

 

“What smell is this? Yah! Did you just fart?” Seulgi quickly released her body and pinched her nose; frowning and feeling dizzy with the frightened odour came out from Yeri’s .

 

“Who asked you to crush my bone with your embrace when my stomach feels ill, Unnie?” Yeri turned around and went inside followed by Seulgi.

 

“I will finish my business in the toilet. You can watch TV in my room or talk to my mother at the living room. Wait for me, Seulgi Unnie!” Yeri said before she walked briskly to the toilet.

 

Seulgi pouted and roamed around the house she had known well. Her father was Yeri’s mother best friend so automatically Yeri’s mother was nice to her too. She didn’t feel like being alone so she searched for Yeri’s mother instead. She went to the living room and saw the middle-aged woman was watching a soap opera.

 

“Good afternoon, auntie!” Seulgi approached her and bowed her head.

 

“Oh hello Seulgi! Come here and sit with me.” GYeri smiled at her, beckoning her to sit near her. She lowered the TV volume down so she could have a chat with Seulgi.

 

“How are you, auntie? Am I disturbing you?” Seulgi politely smiled.

 

“Of course not. Where is Yeri anyway?” GYeri turned her head around but couldn’t find her daughter.

 

“She said she has a stomach ache so she’s going to the toilet.”

 

“Ah that kid! I have told her not to eat the food which has expired but she never listened to me. Let her be. Meanwhile, we can always chat. What do you want to drink? Have you had lunch?” GYeri offered her daughter’s friend.

 

“No, I am fine, Auntie. I just had lunch before I came here.” GYeri nodded.

 

“You look happy, Seulgi. Something good happened?” Seulgi couldn’t hide her blinding smile and nodded her head vigorously.

 

“I got accepted at the company I’ve always dreamed on and it’s all thanks to Yeri.” GYeri’s smile filled with pride because she had taught Yeri well that she could be her successor sometime soon.

 

“Good for you. But are you sure you want to work at that company?” GYeri suddenly asked, still had that smile decorating her face though.

 

“Why is that, auntie?” Seulgi was curious. She had fully known that GYeri’s magic strength was much higher compared to Yeri. She didn’t even need to do meditation to predict something so that question must have hidden meaning behind it.

 

“Nothing. Maybe you can fulfil your biggest dream but it’s not gonna be a highway road free of traffics, Seul. You must do your best, even exceed your maximum capacity to survive the work’s environment, superiors, and other terms you haven’t imagined you would face.” GYeri’s preaching was taken out seriously. Seulgi comprehended, putting each word by word into heart before responding.

 

“Can I withstand it?” Seulgi asked softly. She was just being happy for being accepted but the statements from GYeri before had strongly affected her that she contemplated whether it’s wrong from the start; cheating God’s plan by asking Yeri that she’d do anything just so she could be accepted within the company.

 

“It’s all coming back to you, Seul. Only you yourself know your capacity, to decide whether you can withstand it all or give up trying later. But then again, who knows you will find your true love there, right?” GYeri smiled. She hinted something and Seulgi noticed it because the frown had been converted into a daydreaming smile.

 

“Do you think it’s possible for me to find my soulmate there?” Seulgi’s eyes lit up, filled with expectations and imagination.

 

“Nothing is impossible. You will feel it when you find that very special person. One thing I can say about it; never deny your feelings. Let the feelings encompass you, embrace your heart and flow through every vein you have in your body naturally. The most important thing is, never judge love from its source because even the worst human-being there is, is still created by God and God is never, will never be wrong.” GYeri’s words were wise and beyond Seulgi’s brain capacity to understand so Seulgi could only record the statements in her remaining brain’s memory and nodded her head.

 

“Unnie, I am done! Let’s go to my room!” Yeri came from behind and tapped Seulgi’s shoulder.

 

“Mom, I will take Seulgi away, okay?”

 

“Of course.” GYeri affirmed.

 

“Thank you for the advices, auntie. I will remember it always.” Seulgi didn’t forget to say and bowed her head.

 

“Anytime, Seulgi.” GYeri went back to watching the movie and waved her hand.

 

“So, what did my mother say?” Yeri asked curiously as they ascended the stairs to Yeri’s bedroom.

 

“Complicated things about my future? I am not sure. Your mother’s words are too hard to be understood by my not so bright brain.” Seulgi chuckled.

 

“I know right. My mother is just like that, unlike me that would easily blurt out words I meant to say.” Yeri grinned.

 

“So do you think I would be a better fortune teller than my mother?” Yeri added the question.

 

“Undoubtedly.” Seulgi wagged her eyebrows and Yeri never smiled wider and proudly before.

---

 

“So this is where you will work every day, Seulgi.” Wendy, the HRD department head told Seulgi as she guided her to the new building’s floor where she would work at. And yes, this would be Seulgi’s first day.

 

“Okay.” Seulgi nodded and smiled, feeling smiled at her new table. It was located near the window so she could take a glance at the busy traffic Seoul every now and then. The table was quite spacious and since it’d be her first time working as a company’s employee, she felt the excitement penetrated through every organ inside her body already.

 

“I will assign my team to give you the laptop later for you to work. Since you are procurement and shall conduct meeting with vendors quite often or in short you’ll be pretty mobile so it’s better if you work with laptop instead of table PC.” Wendy added. Again, Seulgi nodded. She still couldn’t quite understand how it was to work in a company but she was confident enough that she could be a good and worthy employee for this company.

 

“Now I am gonna introduce you to your boss or your head department. Are you ready?” Wendy turned to Seulgi, seeking for the answer. Wendy was actually a very beautiful young woman with golden silky hairs, plump lips, drooling body, and melodious voice. She looked kind but deep inside, judging from her ton when she’s speaking to Seulgi; Seulgi just knew she shouldn’t cause any trouble related to Wendy.

 

“Of course.” Seulgi confirmed. Wendy then guided her to a room around 20 meters located in the corner of the building. The door was closed and the curtain was down. Seulgi meekly followed behind, wondering how her boss would be. Wendy then knocked the door.

 

“Come in.” The answer came from the inside.

 

“Hyun, I bring your new team member, Kang Seulgi.” Wendy entered the room first. There was a brunette woman and based from the appearance, Seulgi would say that Irene was around 5 – 7 years older than her since she had become a manager while she’s just a new staff graduated merely couple of months ago.

 

“Seulgi, this is Bae Joohyun or usually called as Irene, your boss and head department of procurement. She was unable to interview you the last time so you just met her now.” Wendy turned to Seulgi and said the basic information she should know about your boss.

 

“My name is Irene. You can call me Ms. Irene or boss or madam or even Hyun, I don’t mind. I come from the State so it’d be no big deal to just call me by my name. What I do mind is if your performance is under my expectation. Do as what you told, even more than you’re told and we’re okay. Be rebellious and fail to achieve your target and you shall be dealing with me. Understand?” Irene stood up, reaching out her hand and shook her hand with Seulgi’s even only for 2 seconds and yet her grip was enough to elaborate how scary her boss would be.

 

“Y-yes, of course Ms. Irene. I will do my best not to fail you.” Seulgi nervously answered.

 

“Don’t be too hard on her, Hyun. She just graduated from college not long ago and this would be her first time working. Be gentle with her, Hyun.” It looked like Wendy was pretty close with Irene because the woman said those things casually, and as if the person they were talking about was not there.

 

“Not my problems though. I got my expectations and you’re responsible to find me a proper employee who can perform well and withstand my requirements.” Irene replied nonchalantly.

 

“You have fired 3 people for the past semester and it’s not easy to find candidate nowadays, Hyun. You can't expect to have a smart yet obedient and willing to work hard employee when she or he would only be placed at entry-level or staff.” Wendy sighed, massaging her head.

 

“Anyway, let’s go and get your laptop, Seulgi. You have heard too much and I am sorry for that.” Wendy stared at Seulgi apologetically. Those gazes however meant so much more than just being sorry for hearing too much things.

 

Seulgi couldn’t answer properly and could only nod her head. The sight and introduction to her boss just now was enough to make Seulgi contemplate whether she was at the right place and at the right company. It was their first introduction and yet Irene slash her boss had already threatened her ignorantly.

 

“Please reconsider what I have said, Hyun. I meant it this time.” Wendy said before she closed the door behind her, after Seulgi had safely come out from Irene’s working room.

 

“Please forget what I have said to Irene just now. Don’t think too much of what we were talking.” Wendy said as they walked side by side.

 

“Uhm.. if I may know, why were they fired? The 3 persons before me?” Seulgi asked carefully. She tried to hold back her curiosity but that information just couldn’t get out from her head.

 

“Your boss is actually a good person.” Wendy started and sighed.

 

“She’s my best friend outside of work but let’s say she’s too perfectionist and assertive at the same time. Scary combinations, isn’t it?” Wendy chuckled.

 

“But there’s nothing to be worried. There’s a reason why I chose you from those numerous experienced candidates.” Wendy added.

 

“Why me?” Seulgi asked.

 

“You shall know in time.” Wendy winked and Seulgi decided not to dig further. She would just ask advice from Yeri later when she came back. Not far later, Wendy arrived at a different woman’s table who looked slightly older than her.

 

“Joy, please prepare things needed for Seulgi. You know, laptop, stationaries, and such.” Wendy told the woman called as Joy.

 

“Seulgi, I shall leave you to Joy, okay. I have meeting in 15 after this. You can casually come and talk to me whenever you need to. I am a member of HRD team anyway so it’s okay to drop by and talk to me about your work or anything related to your work, including your boss. I am responsible for employees’ welfare and happiness anyway.” Wendy kindly offered and Seulgi couldn’t help but smiling.

 

“If not, you can also talk to Joy. She is my team too.” Wendy said.

 

“Joy, I will leave Seulgi to you okay?”

 

“Yes, boss!”

 

“See ya, Seulgi and welcome to the company.” Wendy waved her goodbye and Seulgi waved back at her too.

 

“She is like the nicest boss over here while yours would be the worst one.” Out of nowhere, Joy blurted out.

 

“Huh?”

 

“Bae Irene. Your boss. She is the scariest boss ever, well known to be the manager who fired employees the most for 3 consecutive years, ever since she was promoted as the head dept of procurement, causing havoc and problems to us, HRD team. She literally makes us always suffer a bad grade thanks to the massive turnover percentages.” Joy explained more thoroughly.

 

“Is it okay for you to share this kind of information to me?” Seulgi whispered. She was just the new employee who started working by today but Joy had already spread gossips or perhaps the truth about her boss.

 

“Who cares? It’s not like you will stay around for more than 3 months anyway.” Joy was too relaxed to inform this kind of confidential secrets.

 

“I am planning to have a long-term working years here actually.” Seulgi defended.

 

“Sure. The past 10ish people have said the same thing before they either gave up or being fired by her at the end. However for your information only, the average time of their loyalty to this company is 78,5 days. See? I can even spell it perfectly because I keep analysing her.” There’s bitterness in Joy’s statement and it made Seulgi wondered, what’s wrong with this Irene that the latter could hate her that much?

 

“I don’t hate her okay. I just dislike her maybe? Anyway, fill this form and I shall get your laptop ready in an hour or two.” Joy gave her a paper filled with blank tables what must be filled by Seulgi.

 

Seulgi read the paper thoroughly before writing her answer in the given form. Meanwhile, she witnessed Joy made a phone call to a person Seulgi assumed as a part of IT team member.

 

“Are you done?” Seulgi nodded and handed the paper to Joy.

 

“Great! Now while we’re waiting for your laptop, let me introduce you to your user. Wendy hasn’t let you meet him, right?”

 

“Not yet. I just met Irene, my boss I meant.” Seulgi quickly corrected.

 

“You can call her by name in front of me, I don’t mind.” Joy giggled.

 

“Let’s go then.” Joy stood up and invited Seulgi to join her.

 

Seulgi followed Joy closely, passing some cubicles with people working so diligently in front of either their computers or laptops. There were around 4 moderate meeting rooms and 1 big one if Seulgi hadn’t miscalculated. Few meters later, Joy halted and waited for Seulgi to approach her.

 

“Excuse me, Jonghyun. She is Kang Seulgi and she will be the new member of Irene’s team.” Seulgi’s fear, uncertainty feelings, and insecurity suddenly was translated into a whole new language called hope or faith because there he was, one of the main reasons why she wanted to join the company; her senior when she was in college, the very cool, handsome, and humble man she adored so much that she joined his fan club during her younger years.

 

“Seulgi? You’re my junior in the university, right?” The man stood up and patted her shoulder instead of awkwardly shaking hands with her.

 

“You know her?” Joy asked one of her eyebrows.

 

“Of course! She entered the first year when I was at my third year. We had the same class back then but I graduated first, of course.” The man confirmed and smiled, showing his oh too sweet smile for Seulgi to withstand and it had successfully messed Seulgi’s previous regular heartbeat.

 

“Welcome to the company, Seulgi! I will be your user, operational leader. Please kindly assist me and search for the best vendors out there.” The man joked and Seulgi smiled wider. She knew she’d be look like a weirdo but blame it on the man who was too hot to handle.

 

“Earth to, Seulgi.” Joy nudged her that Seulgi shook her head and pretended to clear , coating her embarrassment.

 

“R-right of course. Please help me too to be useful for you.” Seulgi bashfully smiled. The man chuckled and raised a thumb up at Seulgi.

 

“Since you two have known each other, it’d be easier to work together right? Right.” Joy talked more to herself.

 

“Shall we have lunch together later? I will give you general briefing about the work here in general. You are welcome too to join, Joy. I am lack of competency when it comes to employees’ wellbeing.” Jonghyun said to both of the women.

 

“Sure. And I also Seulgi can make it so let’s have lunch together later then.” Joy answered.

 

“Now we should excuse ourselves because we still have administrations to take care of. See ya at lunch, Jonghyun-ah.” Joy waved the man goodbye. Seulgi took full glance at the man of her dream before waving at him and obediently walked behind Joy.

 

‘No, joining this company has been the best decision I have ever made.’ Seulgi said to herself, trying not to think of her boss and what would she do to her later. At least, there’s always Jonghyun Oppa to make her day better and what could be more extravagant than to having him as her main user which also meant she could talk to him often. With that, she made a promise to herself that she would stay in this company for as long as she could.

---

 

Seulgi’s determination which she had built with sturdy material and of which she made of impenetrable belief was slowly but surely got withered as days passed by. It was almost completely crumbled every time she got summoned by her boss only to make her scolded endlessly by no one else but Irene. The only thing that kept her sane and strong enough was her love for coals and her idol, Jonghyun Oppa.

 

“Why do you keep on slacking off, Seulgi? Do you really challenge me to give you the warning letter, huh?” Here we go again, preaching, sermon or what Seulgi preferred as anger from Irene, her not so lovely boss.

 

“I-I am sorry, Mam. It’s just the instruction order was given late to vendor that the finance team rejected to process the payment.” Seulgi hung her head low. She didn’t have enough bravery to tilt up her head and look directly at her superior’s smouldering eyes.

 

“Then it’s your job to remind them! Vendors are our responsibility! Can you imagine the chaos it would cause to our company if the vendors decided to stop servicing us?!” The intonation escalated quickly that Seulgi was sure even the people outside Irene’s room could hear her voice.

 

“Did you not read the contractors guidelines? It’s all written in there! How do you expect the vendors to work if the instruction order isn’t provided up front? It’s so basic, Seulgi! How can I expect you can do more if you even forget the trivial things like this?” Irene continued and Seulgi felt like she wanted to cry already. The heck with salary and company’s reputation because apparently her boss was an !

 

“I am sorry.” Seulgi gave up defending herself. Besides, she’s always wrong when it came to Irene. Her boss was too smart for her, like she knew everything and Seulgi was merely an idiot who tried to be an intelligent person with futile attempts.

 

“Look, I am really trying to be patient with you and you should say thanks’ to Wendy because she hired you. The only reason I haven’t fired you is because you are a fresh graduated, meaning that you have zero experience working at a company before and I have to understand that. Thus, I have to. No, I must bear with your deficiency and lack of competency. I am responsible for your performance and as much as I hate it, I have to teach you from zero.” Irene took a deep breath, dissipating her anger.

 

“You have worked here for how long again? Two months, right? Tell me, Seulgi. How much time do you need to adapt; to fully acknowledge your job descriptions and your responsibilities?” Irene clasped her hands together and asked seriously. Her intonation had come back to normal but still, it hadn’t receded Seulgi’s despair of working under Irene.

 

“It’s okay to fire me, Mam.” Seulgi said quietly.

 

“Pardon?”

 

“I said, it’s okay if you want to fire me.” Seulgi held back her tears and slowly lifted her head, staring at Irene’s eyes.

 

“You know I cannot do that. It will be unfair to you. Yes, I might have been known as the person who often fired people but I have firm reasons to do that. Meanwhile, you are lack of experience so it will only be fair if I give sufficient time for you to adapt and do your work properly before deciding whether your job is okay or not.” Irene sighed. Her rage had turned into guilt right now. She knew Seulgi was trying hard not to break down into tears because her eyes were already glistening and it would only one heavy blink to make the tears flow down.

 

“So, will a month be enough? I will change my method. You won’t have target this time. I will only ask you to learn, coordinate with people to know more about your job desc. and its correlation with their job. I will even ask their head departments to assign their people to help you.” Irene was already calmed down so she could think more logically, not emotionally.

 

“Are you sure you don’t want to just fire me?” Seulgi sharply breathed, collecting the remaining pieces of her bravery before indirectly asking that question.

 

“Why do you want me to fire you that much? Do you hate me, Seulgi?” Irene clenched her jaw and Seulgi gulped nervously. She would be shot to dead at this moment, wouldn’t she?

 

“N-no, of course not. I wouldn’t dare to, Mam. I thought you’re the one who hate my wellbeing so much?” Seulgi carefully said.

 

“I am lack in everything. I am stupid, forgetful, gullible, and under perform. What do you expect from me? What if I still cannot be performed even after a month?” Seulgi added. The worst scenario would be, she’s kicked out from the company right at this moment which also meant saying goodbye to her big crush, Jonghyun or Oppa in short. Oh well, maybe they weren’t meant to be after all. Besides, they only went to lunch approximately two times a week and only as colleagues, nothing more. Perhaps, it’s time to move on and find another person to have a crush on.

 

“Who am I to tell? And who are you to judge? None of us are fortune tellers, Seulgi. Let a month passes by and you shall have your answer. Now, if there’s nothing more to talk about, you can go back to your desk.” Irene said the closing statement, giving no chance for Seulgi to argue.

 

“Alright, Mam. I will try harder in a month so I can comply with your expectation.” Seulgi gave up as she stood up and excused herself.

 

‘Fortune tellers. Now, how can I not think of Yeri! Damn, Seulgi! I should immediately go to Yeri’s house right after work today.’ Seulgi said in mind. Little did she know that it’d be the main sources of her upcoming problems or blessings or whatever it was which would be described later anyway.

---

 

Seulgi had notified Yeri that she would pay her a visit, telling her that it’s an urgent matter so she really hoped Yeri would have time for her. Yeri was working as personal assistant, and by being a fortune teller, it’d benefit her since she would literally know what her superior wanted or needed from her. Therefore, she was loved by her boss; totally the opposite of Seulgi. Feeling sorry for her friend, Yeri said yes and waited for Seulgi at her home.

 

“Yeri-ah.” Seulgi weakly called her friend’s name as soon as the front door was opened.

 

“Omo! What’s wrong, Unnie? You look like you just finished crying.” Yeri greeted her friend with a tight hug and it made Seulgi cry a river.

 

“Come in and you can tell me the details inside. My mother and father are not home anyway so you can cry as loud as you can, Unnie.” Yeri pulled Seulgi’s hand, leading her to her bedroom.

 

Seulgi told how her boss at work made her crazy, not because of the amount pile of work given to her but more to the way she treated Seulgi like trash. She often embarrassed her by screaming at her while being heard by others. Yes, she would be called to her boss’ office room but her loudness made it useless to be scolded inside the closing room when others still could hear her voice. However, Seulgi didn’t spare the details too much such as what’s her boss’ name was.

 

“She gives me extra chances by letting me stay to learn more about my job description and responsibilities within a month. She also promised me that she wouldn’t let me work normally because she only wanted me to learn about the flow process of procurements and how it’s related with other positions.” Seulgi ended the story.

 

“Can you actually survive another month working or well, learning under her supervision, Unnie?” Yeri felt bad for her friend. If only Seulgi didn’t insist to work there, maybe her fate would be different. Yeah, if only…

 

“I can’t even stand a day with her! How can I survive a month, Yeri-ah!” Seulgi said frustratingly. She closed her eyes, imagining another day inside Irene’s office room, being beaten up by her hurtful words about how stupid and incompetent she was. She shook her head with more tears streamed out from her eyes.

 

“Calm down, Unnie. Why don’t you just file a resignation letter?” Yeri rubbed Seulgi’s back caringly. She took sheets of tissues and even helped Seulgi to wipe the tears away.

 

“Can I be honest with you?” Seulgi drank the water given by Yeri, trying to calm down before continuing.

 

“Of course, Unnie! I am always here for you.” Yeri sincerely exclaimed.

 

And so Seulgi finally told Yeri the truth about her other reason why she wanted to join the company; it’s because her crush from college was working there. Right after graduation, she randomly browsed Facebook to search about him and she found the information of the company’s name where he’s working at. Thus, she was so giddy and stubborn that she’s willing to do anything just so she could join the company.

 

“That’s why I need your help, my friend.” Seulgi crumpled the tissue after her face was dried enough that she looked slightly better.

 

“I will do anything I can to help you. You know that, Unnie.” Yeri said reassuringly and it succeeded to bring a weak smile to Seulgi’s slightly bloated face.

 

“Can you change a person’s heart?” Seulgi bit her bottom lip, shyly asked Yeri.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You know, I only have a month. Can you make my crush pay full attention to me and like me the way I like her and make me the only person in his eyes? So he couldn’t think of anything but me; he couldn’t see anyone the way he sees me; and that his heart would only beat irregularly when I am around?” Seulgi was embarrassed to say this but if it could be done, then she would gladly out for good from the company and happily had a relationship with the man of her dream, the one and only Jonghyun.

 

“I guess I can do that. My mother just taught me how to switch a person’s heart last month and it’d be a good time to try it out with him.” Yeri was confident. Her mother kept on praising her, telling her that she got the talents; she had what it takes to be a great fortune teller, a witch, anything related to superstition and magic.

 

“REALLY? You will do that for me, Yerimmie???” Seulgi couldn’t believe her ears. It was just a spur of thought coming out of nowhere but she tried her chance. She still couldn’t believe it could be done anyway. Yeri was surely the best magician out there and luckily, she also happened to be Seulgi’s best friend.

 

“Of course. We are best friends, aren’t we? So we have to have each other’s back, Unnie.” Yeri nodded her head.

 

“Thank you, Yeri-ah! You are the best! So, what information do you need about my crush?” Seulgi’s desperate tears had transformed into tears of happiness and it’s all thanks’ to Yeri.

 

“I only need the name.” Yeri casually answered, still full with confidence.

 

“It’s Jonghyun.” Seulgi spelled out her most favourite name in the world.

 

“Joohyun?” Yeri had to make sure the name was right.

 

“Ani. Jonghyun.” Seulgi corrected but Yeri couldn’t comprehend it well, blame her weak hearing ability. But Yeri is well.. Yeri always thought that she has super boosted limitless confidence that it would be a shame to ask twice about the name. At the end, she still stubbornly wrote the name as Joohyun. Actually, it’s weird for a man to have that name but Yeri ignored it, completely trusted her guts. After all, she was the fortune teller here, right? Undoubtedly.

 

“Okay how about the family name.” Yeri made a note inside her head; Joohyun.

 

“Nde?” Seulgi asked unsurely. Still, the main issue here was the weak coordination between Seulgi and Yeri despite they were only separated by several meters. But Yeri had heard it as Bae instead of Nde, while Seulgi? Well, Seulgi didn’t even hear the question in the first place, remember? Yes, of course.

 

“Noted. Now you can sleep on the bed while I will do something about your crush, Unnie.” Yeri had the complete name inside her head now, Bae Joohyun. Surely, his parents were quite odd for giving his name like a woman, but anyway probably his nickname was BaeHyun or whatsoever so it wouldn’t be too weird to call him.

 

“Are you sure that’s all the information you needed? Do you need me to accompany you, Yerimmie?” Seulgi asked to ensure.

 

Yes, Seulgi was tired from crying and she needed nothing more than a comfy bed completed with a pillow and bolster. Oh how thankful she was for having a fortune teller as her best friend because apparently Yeri knew what she needed the most now; sleep. The sleepiness even was enough to distract her from the fact that she hadn’t even told Yeri about Jonghyun family’s name. Then again, Seulgi had extreme trust when it came to Yeri, her ability, her kindness, and her caring for Seulgi so she had no reasons to doubt Yeri, right? Absolutely.

 

“Are you doubting me, Unnie?” Seulgi quickly denied and said no while shaking her head as an answer.

 

“Go on and have a rest. Don’t forget to turn the light off because I couldn’t concentrate under blinding light. I will be done in 2 – 3 hours so you can have your rest for now and I will let you know once I am done, Unnie.” Yeri smiled confidently. Yes, Yeri was always confident in every little thing she did, including smiling.

 

“And if it’s too late to go back home, you can always have a sleepover here. I still have your work attire that you left the last time you slept here, Unnie.” Yeri added.

 

And with that, Seulgi went to the bathroom to quickly clean herself and change into a pyjama lent by Yeri. She didn’t forget to say thank you before closing her eyes and went to the dreamland. Oh what a wrong move she just made because Yeri didn’t get the right name and her mother wasn’t lying when she said that Yeri got the talents because Yeri’s spell worked magic and yes it could change a person’s heart and probably Seulgi’s crush, only if she got the right name.

---

 

Wednesday morning and Seulgi woke up early because she had to go to work from Yeri’s house and she didn’t want to risk arriving late to work. She was already full from preaching about her incompetency from Irene so she didn’t really need to add another preaching topic such as being lazy and not punctual because she’s late to work.

 

Seulgi arrived at work around 7.30AM, meaning she still got 30 minutes more to prepare her heart, mind, and soul to face the day. She knew it’s still gonna be a road full of gravels, regardless Irene’s promises not to let Seulgi work and would just wish her to learn how to work properly. She was wiping her laptop with wet wipes when the phone on her table rang. The name mentioned was ‘Irene Bae’. The very natural disaster existed in Seulgi's life.

 

‘It’s still morning. Is she that eager to be angry with me all the time? The working hours haven’t even started.’ Seulgi cursed under her breath but she picked up the phone anyway.

 

“Go to my office room now.” Irene said and hung up immediately. It was obvious that was about to have a very early morning sermon from Irene.

 

With heavy heart, lack of enthusiasm, and negative thoughts, she brought her unwilling body to walk to Irene’s office room. She didn’t forget to knock politely at the door and waited for confirmation from the latter to enter the room. After Irene said ‘come in’, Seulgi entered the room and closed the door behind her.

 

“Have a seat, Seulgi-ah.” Seulgi knew the friendliness was a fraud and in mere seconds, it would be changed into rage.

 

“How can I help you, Mam?” Seulgi put on her best acting and forced a smile.

 

“Oh you can by having breakfast together with me. I have woken up so early just to cook you a nutritious breakfast.” Irene’s face was red and Seulgi blinked her eyes, couldn’t believe what’s happening.

 

“Pardon, mam?”

 

“Don’t make me repeat it, Seulgi-ah. Let’s have breakfast together in my office room.” Irene took what looked like lunch boxes and set it on the table. She showed the content to Seulgi; it consisted of rice, Korean egg roll, vegetable pancakes, and braised tofu.

 

“I am sorry I am still learning how to be a good chef so I could only cook you these humble dishes.” Irene added and Seulgi was still in shock as of what’s happening with Irene. Did she have her head collided with the brick or something?

 

“Do you want me to feed you, Seulgi-ah?” Irene blushed and smiled shyly.

 

“WHAT?!”

---

 

So this is the first chapter. I purposely convert some of my Taeny shots stories into Seulrene so more people can read it :)

There are readers who read Seulrene only or maybe Taeny only so I made the same stories for a different type of readers XD

I really hope you like it because this one is hmm... one of my favorite stories that I have written hehehe..

Thanks for reading and please drop comments if you have time :D