To be perfectly, transparently, and unmistakably honest, Byul never saw herself working in the hospitality industry. So how she ended up exactly there was still a mystery to her to this day.

As far as hotels went, The Eternity was definitely in the upper echelon of class and luxury. Its lobby alone looked like it was lifted straight from a stylized magazine’s pages. Well and warmly lit, marble flooring, an obnoxiously large bouquet in the middle of the foyer that was changed out with fresh flowers everyday. A lobby that sprawled out into a reception area, a lounge, and a discreet hallway that probably led to the elevators. There were always subtle notes of sandalwood and patchouli in the air, as well as the soft strains of what sounded like jazz piano floating from unseen speakers.

In other words, it was the type of hotel that looked like it would always garner foot traffic from South Korea’s elite. And Byul had no doubt that it probably did, it’s just that she never saw these guests. Probably because she was the bellhop during the night shift. 

Still, it was a job that paid, that offered health insurance, was relatively idiotproof, and had quite a lot of perks.

“Moon Byul-ssi!”

Speaking of perks.

Byul already had a smile on her face when she approached the front desk. Partly because it was in the job description that she seem amicable and friendly when approaching guests, but mostly because—

“Moon Byul-ssi, please our guest to her room.” Kim Yongsun was the hotel’s night manager; she was the one who first hired Byul when the recruitment agency she was part of first sent her to The Eternity. Yongsun was also–in Byul’s professional opinion–the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen.

She’s pretty sure everyone on the night shift knew about this little crush of hers. As if to prove the point, Wheein, the night concierge took one look at her and was already trying and failing to hide a snicker by biting the insides of her cheeks. When the guest wasn’t looking, still caught up in whatever Yongsun was reminding them about their room, Byul shot Wheein a teasing little glare. Wheein winked.

Once the guest was finally handed their room key, she took one look at Byul and smiled. Byul returned it as best she could, hoping she gave off the “friendly” and “approachable” vibe she’s been trained to exude. She was already in the process of loading the luggage into the bell cart when the guest suddenly asked.

“Does this also count as room service for dinner?”

Byul looked up, confused. Wheein’s eyes widened, something frantic darting through her face before it was easily masked behind her every day smile. Yongsun’s expression didn’t change. 

“Oh you must be confused Miss,” Yongsun said, smoothly and professionally. “Any form of room service must be coursed through our concierge, which you can dial from your room. Jung Wheein-ssi will be more than happy to note your preferences and have something sent up immediately.”

The guest’s face made a cute little ‘o’ of  understanding before looking at Byul and smiling sheepishly. “Sorry, I guess I’m just a little hungry.”

She was still confused about the whole exchange but Yongsun’s return smile was patient and kind. It made Byul’s insides go a little fuzzy and part of her wished that smile was directed at her. She was snapped back to attention when Yongsun called out to one of the waiters in the Hotel Lounge.

“Hwanwoong-ssi, please accompany Byulyi-ssi and our guest!”

Byul looked up from having put the last bag in the bell cart. There honestly wasn’t much luggage to bring, and based on the room number tagged to one of the bags, it wouldn’t even be a difficult journey. “Oh that won’t be–”

“Enjoy your stay at The Eternity,” Yongsun smoothly cut her off, smiling brightly at the guest before offering a quick bow and walking away to her own post. From the Concierge desk, Wheein gave Byul a sympathetic little wince.

Byul sighed. This wasn’t the first time Yongsun had assigned one of the older employees to accompany her. She understood it during her first few weeks. The Eternity was as large and spacious as it was luxurious, and it was certainly easy for a newcomer to get lost within the winding hallways. Still, she couldn’t help the bitter taste of resentment in . 

Her frustration must have been showing through her expression because in the elevator ride back down to the lobby after assisting the guest to her room, Hwanwoong gave her a careful nudge in the arm.

“Don’t worry about it, Noona!” He said, ever the positive one. “It’s more fun to have someone to ride the elevator with after, right?”

Byul tried to smile. “I know it’s not mature to sulk like this. But I’ve been here for over a year and Yongsun-ssi still treats me like I’m a stumbling newbie. Not even trusting me to a guest without needing a guide to make sure I don’t get lost.”

“But that’s not–” Hwanwoong’s eyes widened, and he cleared his throat, “--Uhm. I mean. It’s not that Yongsun-noonim doesn’t trust you, it’s just that, uh.”

Byul raised both eyebrows, confused as she waited for Hwanwoong to finish his thought. 

“Uhm,” Hwanwoong said intelligently, eyes darting between Byul and the elevator doors. As if on cue, the elevator pinged open at the lobby, and Hyejin, the night bartender at The Eternity’s lounge was there waiting. 

“There you are Woong-ah,” she said calmly, gesturing for Hwanwoong to follow her, “please return to your post. We have some guests who’ve reserved the lounge for tonight.”

He spared a final, sheepish little look at her, “I’ll talk to you later noona,” he said before scurrying off to join his fellow waiters at the lounge, two of them playfully shoving at his shoulders as he grabbed a tray. Byul stared after him for a moment before shrugging. That was odd. 

In front of her, Hyejin smirked. “Hi Unnie, how’s your night been?”

Byul smiled, shaking her head as she exited the elevator. “Just another night at The Eternity.” She said.

“Good, cause Yongsun-unnie wants to talk to you.”

Byul felt her stomach sink to the soles of her fight. This was it. The night she was going to get fired. 

Some of her apprehension must have shown on her face because Hyejin gave her a friendly little pat on the shoulder. “She doesn’t look angry.” The other woman said, trying to be helpful.

Byul let out a single, humorlesss ‘ha’. “To you maybe,” she muttered under her breath, sure that Hyejin couldn’t have heard her. Beside her, Hyejin smiled anyway.

Yongsun was still standing at the same spot near the front desk, looking sharp and pristine from the top of her head to the points of her shoes. As she approached, Byul noticed how Yong gave her a clear onceover. She subconsciously pulled at the hem of her own bellhop uniform and smoothed out the bun that was tucked near the nape of her neck. Compared to Kim Yongsun, she felt like a grubby schoolgirl with a crush. 

“Yes, Yongsun-ssi?”

“Were you able to our guest well? No problems?”

Byul swallowed down what she really wanted to say, which was that she’s been here for almost two years and that she would appreciate not being patronized. Instead she smiled and nodded. “Yes, Yongsun-ssi.”

The Night Manager chanced another glance at Byul from the tablet in her hands and nodded. “Very good.” She walked away and Byul felt what bravado she had left leave her body.

She leaned against the front desk with a sigh. “She hates me.”

Behind her, Wheein gave a little sympathetic hum. “You might not realize it now, but everything Yongsun-unnie does, she does because she cares.” The receptionist said kindly, if a little cryptically. 

Byul pouted  but let it slide, after all, she was used to it  by now. 

–

A few weeks later, Byul decided to head to work early, if only to get a little workout in before her shift started. One of the perks of being an employee at The Eternity was that she could use the amenities whenever she wanted, as long as she wasn’t on the clock.

It was late afternoon, just a few hours before sunset and her shift started when Byul strolled into the hotel gym. She was hoping it would be empty, running off of the assumption that guests would either use it early in the morning, or late at night. She wasn’t exactly wrong, aside from the trainers there was only one other person in the gym.

It was Yongsun.

Byul froze at the entryway, deciding if maybe she should cut her losses and go for the pool instead when the gym receptionist saw her.

“Oh, Byulyi-unnie! Here for a workout?”

From where she was seated at the bench press, Yong’s gaze whipped over to her. Byul winced. She plastered a hopefully believable smile on her face and nodded.

“Hi Jieun-ah, it’s not going to be a problem right?”

“Of course not!” Jieun said, trying and failing to stifle a yawn behind her hand. “Geonhak-ah and Harinie are early too and Yongsun-noonim is here as you can see. Perfectly safe!”

Byul blinked. “Safe?”

“Uh– you don’t have to worry about disturbing guests is what I mean!” Jieun said, her smile not faltering in the least. “A safe space just for employees!”

“Oh, right.” Byul nodded, already heading over to the lockers.

When she emerged, Yongsun had moved on to the treadmill. There was a split second where Byul debated whether she was brave enough to take the treadmill beside Yongsun’s in an attempt to make conversation. She took one step before wimping out at the last second and making a beeline for the weights. 

Geonhak and Harin were both there wiping down kettlebells when she approached. 

“Noona,” Geonhak greeted in his low rumble.

“Boys,” Byul responded, trying to imitate it and falling flat. 

Harin chuckled, “not going for the treadmills today, Noona?” It was Geonhak’s turn to laugh, Byul just rolled her eyes. The treadmills were situated right behind the bench presses. 

“Shut up both of you,” she said, without any real heat, turning her attention instead to the workout she had planned in her head. After about fifteen minutes of doing weights by herself, she had worked up a decent enough sweat to consider it a warm up. She was deciding on whether or not to do some leg workouts next when other hotel guests began arriving at the gym. The distant strains of their conversation briefly caught her attention, while they were checking in with Jieun at reception. Once they entered the main gym proper, one of them chanced a glance at Byul’s direction.

The man grinned. 

Byul ignored it, completely used to tuning out lecherous and unwanted attention from strangers when necessary. She lowered the weights she was holding, wiping at the sweat that had gathered at her neck when–

“Hi,” It was the hotel guest. He flashed a wide grin at her, showing his teeth. Byul held back the urge to wince. 

“I liked your form.” He said, in what sounded like an attempt at being smooth and charming, but instead came off as overly arrogant and confident. “I was wondering if you could show me a few things too.” For her part, Byul did her utmost best not to make a rude face at a hotel guest.

“Oh I’m not–”

“Excuse me Sir,” Yongsun came out of nowhere, flanked by both Geonhak and Harin. Byul tried to recover from the shock. She certainly hadn’t noticed any of them being near her while she was working out.  

Yongsun moved to step in front of her, standing up to her full height. “She isn’t qualified for this but we have excellent trainers who are more than qualified to enhance your gym experience.”

The guest looked a bit put-off. “Oh I thought she was–”

“Moon Byul-ssi, I believe  your shift is about to begin, please shower off and head to the main lobby.” Yongsun said, leaving no room for argument.

Byul wanted to argue back, to say that she could more than handle one obnoxious guest, that her shift wasn’t for another two hours and she refused to give this man the satisfaction of her being the one to leave the gym because of his inappropriateness. She opened to say perhaps one or all of those things when Yongsun leveled her with a hard look. Byul averted her eyes and nodded, quickly making her way to the exit. 

When she passed Jieun, the other girl had a worried look on her face.  

Later, during her actual shift, she couldn’t help but notice how Wheein only had her bringing up bags after the guests had already gone to their rooms. It wasn’t a concern per se, and nor was it the first time she’d delivered luggage that way, but it was certainly a departure from how she’d normally done things.

In a lull between guests at around three in the morning, Byul was debating whether or not it would be safe to sneak a drink at the bar. She could usually wheedle Hyejin into giving her a drink if the bar wasn’t too busy. Which, admittedly, was rare. The Eternity was currently the only hotel Byul knew of that had it’s lounge and bar opened 24/7. She had asked Wheein about it once but the other girl just smiled. “We provide around the clock service,” she had said. 

In the here and now, Byul snuck over to where Goeun, one of the waitresses, was finishing up serving two new glasses of red wine to a couple. 

“Goeunie!” Byul said in a singsong-y voice. That usually worked in her favor.

“Unnie,” Goeun replied back in the same melody. “Are you letting the intrusive thoughts win again?”

“Just one glass of wine! Please? For my aching feet?”

Goeun laughed. “Unnie you’re the only human I know who can keep up with the rest of us.”

Byul was debating whether or not to try pouting to get what she wanted when she realized the smile had gone from Goeun’s face entirely. Actually the other girl had gone deathly silent beside her.

“Hey, something wrong?”

Something like panic flashed across Goeun’s face before an overly bright smile took its place. “Of course not! I’ll get you that wine, Unnie.”

She scurried away, and Byul was left staring after. Wondering at her friend’s sudden change in tone. As she walked back to her normal post, she didn’t notice how the other lounge wait staff were sneaking nervous glances in her direction. 

When she’d finally gotten her glass of wine, it was nearing the end of the night shift, dawn just an hour away. It was usually around this time that the hotel lobby finally quieted down, guests either sequestered in their rooms or heading out for the day. 

Today was no different. It was in this stillness that Byul figured she could enjoy her glass of wine in the baggage storage room, just behind the front desk, except as she approached, she already heard voices coming from inside. 

“This was a mistake from the start.” said a voice that sounded suspiciously like Yongsun.

“Unnie, we’ve been over this, everything’s going to be–” that one was Wheein. 

“No it won't be fine. We had two near misses this week alone and after Hyejin told me what happened earlier, I think it’s clear that she can’t be here!”

“She’s been here for almost two years! We’ve dealt with all this stuff before! That’s why we have the system we have. We can’t fire her now, it would be an HR nightmare. And definitely against a few labor laws.”

It felt like someone had dumped a bucket of ice on her head. Yongsun wanted to fire her? She looked down guiltily at the glass of wine in her hand and wondered how she would break the news to her mom that she was about to get fired for drinking on the job.

“I just can’t keep risking this Wheeinie,” Yongsun said, her voice sounding utterly defeated. “I don’t want to see her–”

Byul downed the glass and walked away. Unwilling to hear anything else. She had always sensed that Yongsun had never taken a shine to her, but it still hurt to hear how utterly unwanted she was. She returned the glass to the bar and waited for Wheein and Yongsun to emerge from the storage room. 

“Excuse me,”

Byul turned to see a tall statuesque woman smiling at her. A hotel guest probably. Even though Yongsun’s words had shattered her heart completely, she still had enough presence of  mind to remember to be courteous to guests so Byul smiled and stood up a little straighter.

“How can I help you ma’am?”

“I was wondering if you could help me bring my bags up to my room, I’m dead tired and I’d like to be in bed before the sun rises.”

Byul hoped her smile was convincing enough. She grabbed the woman’s bag and proceeded to her to the elevators. A part of her felt sad at the notion that this would probably be the last time she would get to do this. 

On the elevator ride up, Byul couldn’t help but notice that the guest kept smiling in her direction. She smiled back, to be polite.

“Is this  your first time at the Eternity?” Byul asked.

“Oh no,” the other woman replied, “I’ve been coming here for years but I was away for a very long while.”

“Business?”

The woman smiled, revealing perfectly white, straight teeth. “Something like that. Anyway I thought it’s been a while since I’ve indulged in a little luxury so I checked in at my earliest convenience, and imagine my surprise to see how much The Eternity has really improved on their hospitality.” Another winning smile was thrown Byul’s way.

“We do offer round the clock service,” Byul said, echoing Wheein’s words from before. 

When the doors opened on the right floor, Byul lead the way down the wall, trying her best not to feel too sentimental about everything. At the end of the hallway, she checked the room tag attached to the bags and used her mastercard to open the suite.

“Here we go ma’am, one of the Eternity’s finest rooms.” In her time working here, she wasn’t exactly sure that line was true. Usually she only ever saw the entrance hallway before the actual room so she wasn’t exactly sure if the interiors were any different or if they were all the same. Now she may never find out. 

“Perfect!” The guest said, already sweeping into the room in confident strides. “Just bring the luggage to the bedroom.”

Okay perhaps she would get to see inside one of the rooms after all.

Admittedly, the room was very nice . The entryway led out into a lavish open-concept living room-slash-kitchenette, with lush sofas, a coffee table polished to the point of being an almost reflective surface, and a flat screen TV. The kitchenette was separated from the rest of the living room by a black marble countertop, behind which there was a large refrigerator, a toaster, a microwave, and a water kettle. Between the living room and the kitchenette was a doorway that Byul presumed would be the one that led to the bedroom. She followed it and stared wide-eyed at the largest bedroom she’d ever seen. The whole bedroom was carpeted and there was a king-sized bed right in the middle of the room, decked out in emerald-green silk sheets and throw pillows decorated with golden-thread embroidery.  There was another door deeper in that probably led to an en suite bathroom but what was most impressive was the window, which was ceiling to floor glass and had an impressive view of the Seoul in the wee hours just before dawn.

“Could you close the curtains please?” The guest said from somewhere else in the suite. Byul quickly moved the bag over to the side and undid the tassels on the curtains. They were heavy, and once they had been drawn closed, Byul had no doubt that not even a sliver of sunlight would be able to peek its way through.

As she turned to leave, Byul almost bumped into the guest, who was suddenly standing right behind her.

“You can sit on the bed. Make yourself comfortable.” The woman said.

Byul blinked. The bed?

Oh no, was she being…propositioned?

Byul held her hands up, quickly stepping away.

“Oh ma’am I think–uhm. There’s been some mistake you see this isn’t that–”

The woman's saccharine smile didn’t move a muscle. “No need to be nervous,” she purred, placing a hand on Byul’s shoulder, her grip was like iron and Byul winced even as she tried to move away. “I’m very gentle.” The woman said. She trailed her hand down Byul’s arm, gripping her wrist and bringing it close to for a kiss.

"Wait! Don't--"

“Excuse me!”

The sudden voice startled them both and Byul seized at the opportunity to move several paces away, hand massaging at her wrist where the guest had gripped it so tightly. She had  a feeling there would be bruises there the next day.

It was Yongsun, eyes wide in panic, a keycard in her hand. Behind her was Wheein and another member of the housekeeping staff–Kanghyun, was it? or Hyung-something?–all of them looking like they’d sprinted from the lobby to the room. 

The guest didn’t miss a beat, “Oh, Yongsunnie! What a surprise!”

Yongsun’s eyes darted between the guest and Byul before she cleared and made an attempt at regaining some of her composure. “Dahee-ssi. We’re so happy to have you stay with us again.”

The guest’s—Dahee’s—smile was back in full force. “It’s great to be back. I was just about to enjoy a little snack.” With that she threw a wink at Byul, “you’re more than welcome to join me.”

Byul stepped back even further away. She shook her head at Yongsun, trying to convey, in as little to no words as possible that she was in no way a consenting party.

Whatever type of hotel manager training she was given must have kicked in because Yongsun also stood to her full height. “We’d love to accommodate one of our favorite patrons,” she said, her smile was warm but her tone was firm, “However Byulyi-ssi is under my protection, and I’ll kindly ask you not to accost her during your stay.”

Dahee’s eyes widened, moving from Yong to Byul. A small frown turned down the corners of her pretty mouth. “Oh my goodness! I had no idea,” She stepped aside, leaving the doorway to the living room all clear. “I just assumed since I saw her standing in the lobby and she just looked so–”

“Ah, yes.” Yongsun said, “Just an honest mistake of course.” She gestured for Byul to stand with her. All dignity aside, Byul all but scampered to Yongsun’s side. 

“I’ll have Wheein send up some refreshments,” Yongsun said, placing a calming hand on Byul’s shoulder, “complementary of course.”

Dahee’s smile was back, “Thank you Yongsun!” then she turned to look at Byul, fluttering the fingers of the hand that had held her in a vice grip not two minutes earlier in a cute little wave, “Sorry about the misunderstanding!”

Byul just nodded, eyes trained at the floor, until she felt Yongsun usher her out of the room. She barely registered the tense walk down the hallway to the elevators, but once the doors pinged shut behind them, Byul felt her knees give way, the adrenaline finally crashing and making room for nothing but bone-dead fatigue. She slid to the floor, trying to calm herself, the heels of her palms pressed against her eyes.

“Byul-ah, are you alright?” 

It was Yongsun, but Byul couldn't even bring herself to face her, not after everything.

“I’m sorry, Yongsun-ssi,” she mumbled, mostly to herself. “I know this doesn’t help my case in the least, but I swear I had no idea–”

“None of this is your fault Byul-ah,” Finally, Byul lifted her head only to come face to face with Yongsun, who was kneeling in front of her, “if anything I should be the one apologizing to you. I shouldn’t have left you so exposed in the lobby like that.”

Byul shrugged, “at least now you have a legitimate excuse to fire me.”

Yongsun’s eyes widened. Behind her, both Wheein and Kanghyun were trying and failing to look like they weren’t hanging on every word.

“Fire  you?”

Byul sighed, already accepting the inevitable. “I heard you and Wheein earlier, about my mishaps this past week, and how drinking wine on the clock was the last straw. I get it.”

For all that she was as composed as they came, the look of clear confusion on Yongsun’s face was, Byul had to admit, kind of cute. “Drinking…wine?”

She nodded glumly, “and then now with this guest propositioning me, you’ll probably need to fire me to save face so it all worked out in your–”

Yongsun’s eyes were as large as dinner plates, “Oh you thought she was–”

“Propositioning you of course!” Wheein suddenly said, very loudly and directed at the back of Yongsun’s head. “Dahee-unnie has been known to be very devil-may-care with, uhm, her bed partners. But nothing happened so it certainly isn’t cause for anyone to be fired right Yongsun-unnie?”

A number of unreadable emotions passed through Yongsun’s face before the flash of understanding lit it up like a Christmas tree. “Ah! Yes! Uhm–” She looked wildly around for a moment before focusing her attention back to Byul. “You’re not fired.”

It was her turn to be confused, “But i thought–” The frail tendrils of hope were beginning to blossom in her chest, but Byul refused to acknowledge them. “You said you never wanted to see me.”

Inexplicably, Wheein suddenly began coughing into . Kanghyun, on the other hand, seemed very interested in the details of the elevator keypad in front of him.

“That’s not what I–” Yongsun stammered for a bit, and it took Byul a while to place her expression. She was embarrassed. “I mean. You’re very valuable to m— to the hotel.”

Byul felt her heart pound in her chest. Despite herself, she felt herself smile. “You mean that?”

Yongsun cleared , all the way embarrassed now. “Uhm. Yes. Uh. Anyway.” She stood up in one, fluid motion, extending a hand to Byul. “Shall we put this whole mess behind us?”

Yongsun’s grip was cool and comforting as she helped pull Byul to her feet. Once they were eye to eye again, Byul swore she caught Yongsun’s eyes dart to her lips for the briefest of moments. The moment ruined by the elevator door opening and Wheein proclaiming in a loud voice, “Hotel Lobby!”

It was Yongsun who pulled away first, clasping both hands behind her. “Yes, well. Have a safe trip home Moon Byul-ssi. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you Yongsun-ssi.” She had barely taken three steps out of the elevator before poking her head back in, “Does this mean I can call you ‘Unnie’ like everyone else now?” She said, with what she hoped was her most winningest grin.

Seeing the shock on Yongsun’s face was worth it though. “Kang Hyungu-ssi,” Yongsun said, once she’d recovered, “Please make sure Byulyi- ssi gets to the staff room in one piece.”

Hyungu did his level best to hold in a laugh. “Sure thing…Noona.”

Byul didn’t even bother holding in her laughter as she walked away. For the first time since she started working here, it felt like everything was finally falling into place for her.

–ooo– 

Yong stepped out of the elevator, watching Byulyi as she and Hyungu made their way to the staff room.

“She's valuable to the hotel, huh?” Wheein said beside her. Yong didn’t have to look to know that her friend was giving her the iest-eating grin ever. She barely restrained rolling her eyes. “Don’t start.”

“I’m just glad everything worked out for the best,” Wheein said. 

Yong nodded. She knew the moment she hired Byul that it would be hard, but she did wish it wasn’t this hard. “It’s like every time I look away, every vampire within a hundred-meter radius is out to get her.”

“Then maybe it’s better that she’s here where we can all protect her, as opposed to out there.” Wheein said sagely, “especially since she means so much to the hotel.” the other girl added, elbowing Yongsun gamely in the side. 

Yongsun sighed. She hadn’t expected caring this much about her only mortal employee. Even now, the thought of Byul falling prey to one of The Eternity’s many immortal patrons caused her physical pain. If her heart still beat, she imagined it would be aching at the irony of it all. “What am I gonna do, Wheenie?”

“We do what we do best Unnie,” Wheein said, an echo of a centuries-old joke between them, to which Yongsun is expected to reply:

“Just another night at The Eternity.”

fin