“Class, dismissed!” Kahi said as she stood up from her chair and picked up her things on the table. The students also got up and prepared to leave.

Park Kahi is a college professor teaching music arts. She also serves as the adviser of the university’s drama club. She’ very strict with her students whether it is in the classroom or at the stage that most of her students feel either scared or challenged in her class.

“Nana!” She called when the girl passed in front of her.

Nana, a girl with black-rimmed eyeglasses and blonde hair tied into a ponytail, looked up and turned to her, “Yes, ma’am?”

“I hope you would consider my offer.” Kahi said, and then she left without even waiting for a reply.

Nana remained where she stood. She shrugged her shoulders and sighed before continuing to where she was going.

***

“Mom, I’ll be out for a while.” Nana said as she put on her slippers.

Her mom appeared from the kitchen, “Where are you going?”

“The public library. I need some books for a research paper I’m doing.”

“Okay, just be home before dinner.” Her mom said with a smile.

Nana smiled back, “I will.”

Nana went to the public library, but unfortunately, the book she was looking for was already borrowed by someone else and they only have one stock of it.

She sighed, “Of all days! Why would that person have to borrow it today?” She walked slowly as she opened the door of the library to leave, “What do I do now?” She stomped her foot and sighed again as her head dropped. Suddenly, a bell rang and caught her attention. Nana looked up and saw that it was an ice cream vendor at the other side of the street, in front of her. Perfect. She thought. Nana then crossed the street and went to buy ice cream. As she was waiting for the vendor to give her change, she began to look around. Oh, I forgot that Ms. Kahi lives here. I wonder if she’s home.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the vendor spoke, “Here you go!” The man smiled and gave her change.

“Thanks.” She smiled back. Nana walked to the direction of her house, but for some reason, she felt drawn towards Kahi’s house so she went to it and climbed the steps to the front door. She looked around for a while. Should I ring the doorbell? She thought at first, but then she shook her head and shrugged the thought away. Nana was about to leave when the front door suddenly opened.

“Oh, Nana.” Kahi said, sounding a bit surprised.

“I was just walking by, so I thought…” Nana didn’t know what to say.

Kahi smiled, “Would you like to come in?”

Nana paused for a while and had doubts, but she still agreed.

“Welcome to my house.” Kahi said as she led Nana to the living room. “Have a seat and I’ll go get us something to eat.”

Nana smiled and sat on the sofa. It was very soft that she could tell it was made from expensive materials. Her eyes roamed around the room. The walls were white and beautiful paintings can be seen everywhere. She really loves art. She stood up and approached a table beside a wall where pictures of Kahi from her performances were displayed.

“That’s me when I still do stage performances.” Kahi said, suddenly appearing behind her after placing two glasses of orange juice on the table. “I miss those days.” Kahi seemed to reminisce for a few seconds and then she went back to the kitchen.

Nana sat back on the sofa. Ms. Kahi seems to live alone… I don’t understand why a lot of students seem to hate her when she seems so nice to me.

Kahi came back holding a plate of cookies, “They’re freshly baked.” She boasted.

“You bake?” Nana asked in amazement.

“I do. I guess a lot of single women do that.” Kahi joked.

Nana smiled, but then she remembered Kahi’s offer.

“Have you come here to ask me about my offer?” Kahi asked.

“Ma’am…” Nana began, but Kahi cut her short.

“Aw please, just call me Kahi when we’re outside.”

Nana smiled, “Uhm, K-Kahi, I’m really honored that you chose me to join, but I still want to further understand this thing you call ‘Project: Eve’.”

Kahi smiled, “I thought you’d never ask.”

Kahi proceeded to discuss Project: Eve to Nana.

“So what do you want to know about Project: Eve?” She asked.

“Basically, what is Project: Eve?” Nana asked.

“Okay. Project: Eve is an organization created in 1993 by Phyllis Gavin* where only females are allowed to join or be recruited. It started out as a childish thought she had with her friends after becoming brokenhearted.”

“Wait, Phyllis Gavin is a foreign name… does that mean there are also other branches of Project: Eve aside from this one?”

“Yes. It has actually gone worldwide. To tell you the truth, we also have a few celebrity agents, like Taylor Swift.”

“Taylor Swift? Really?” Nana was amazed.

“Yes. Promise not to tell anyone about that. Everything about this group remains within the group. I am only telling you these things because I’m recruiting you.” Kahi explained.

“Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone…” Nana continued, “But how did you get Taylor Swift to join?”

“Well, an agent invited her and she said yes thinking that it would give her experiences and inspirations she can include in her songs.”

“I don’t understand. What is the purpose of Project: Eve that Taylor felt she would get experience from it?” Nana asked.

“Basically, Project: Eve aims to teach men lessons to make them better persons, but don’t misunderstand the organization’s purpose as a means to punish men, no, because this groups is all for men. Our intention is purely to help them realize what they can’t on their own, because women should be able to do that for them – women should complete men.”

“If Project: Eve is super secret, how do we get clients?” Nana asked.

We? Kahi smiled and said, “Well, we have a way of spreading what our group does and that is through our sisters.”

“Sisters?”

“Yes. They are members of the group but not necessarily agents. You know, sometimes their friends and relatives tell them the problems they are having with men, and so they recommend them to us.”

“How does an agent complete a mission?”

“Of course, if the agent gets to teach the lesson and that could be done, mostly by interacting with the client, the man, himself.”

“Interacting?” Nana raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, because the agent needs to learn and understand the person more for her to be able to think of a way to carry out her plan in completing her task. Interacting with them includes being friends, classmates, officemates, best friends, girlfriend, or even a far far away cousin he only gets to meet for the first time.”

“The most effective methods, however, is being their friend or their girlfriend.” Kahi continued, “Because through those relationships, men release more of themselves to the agent, which helps in understanding them. Take note though that Project: Eve doesn’t allow ual interactions. The most intimate a man can get with the agent is a kiss, and that should only happen when necessary.”

“But it’s just a fake relationship, right?” Nana asked.

“Of course, that is why we carefully choose our agents. Agents should be emotionally capable to carry out these missions. We can’t have each of them falling in love with each of their clients. The agents have to keep in mind that that relationship, that closeness, that friendship, is not real.”

“How do you break off the relationship then?”

“Well, you can tell him that you have to leave or study abroad, tell him you like someone else, tell him you want to focus on your studies, there are actually a lot of excuses you can say - we even provide a book for that. The easiest though would probably be just to disappear, but never resort to telling the truth about Project: Eve.”

“Wouldn’t that affect the agent? I mean, people might look at them differently because of that.”

“How others think of them doesn’t really matter much to the agents themselves – like I said, the agents are carefully chosen. Plus, we are also very cautious in deciding on which missions to accept.”

Nana thought for a moment before asking again, “How do you get agents?”

“Of course, for this branch, I’m responsible for most of the recruitment and I am very meticulous about it. I just observe people and once I have made up my mind, I would invite them – like what I did with you.  For the agents of this branch, all were recruited.”

“What are your standards?”

“Of course, they have to be very smart, not only academically but also in matters about life. They should also have a good understanding of men and how they should handle them. They should also have good personalities for us to be able to work well with each other. And well, I also have a way of choosing agents that is hard to explain. You know, women instincts.”

Nana nodded and followed a question, “Were there instances that you rejected a mission?”

“There were lots, like when a wife wanted us to teach her husband a lesson. I didn’t accept that mission because I don’t want my agents to look like cheap women. Project: Eve’s agents are all very proper women and I don’t want people to look down on them especially through being with someone’s husband.”

“Do you have an office?” Nana asked.

“We do. This house, my house, serves as our office.” Kahi stood up, “Come with me, I’ll show you around.” Kahi then led Nana to a hall with glass walls and doors, “This is where Project: Eve agents hold meetings. With or without missions, agents meet here at least once a week. That is so we could maintain a close relationship and keep updated with each others’ lives.” Kahi turned to Nana, “The agents and I are all very good friends. We treat each other like family.”

Nana smiled.

Kahi took Nana to a room, “This is the office. We keep most of the records and other legal documents here. As of now, we have 13 agents including me.” Kahi points to the right wall of the office where the pictures of the members were hanged. “Now, that there is an empty spot where I will be placing your picture, if you join.”

Nana was about to say something but she was interrupted by a voice.

“I’m back!” A girl shouted and suddenly opened the door, surprising both Nana and Kahi. “Oh, I didn’t know you were going to have someone over.” The girl said.

“She’s my student, the one I’m talking to you about.” Kahi said.

“Oh, I’m Jooyeon.” Jooyeon enthusiastically said and extended her hand to Nana.

“I’m Nana.” Nana smiled and shook Jooyeon’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you!” Jooyeon smiled, “Well, I’ll just be in the kitchen, okay?” At that, she left.

Kahi tried to contain her laughter, “She’s always like that, all lively and cheerful. Just understand her.”

“She seems very nice.” Nana said.

“She is.” Kahi nodded, “She’s my first recruit. She serves as my assistant here and specializes in research about the client’s background and creating a profile for the agent.”

“A profile?” Nana asked.

“Since the agent is going to be in a fake relationship, she also needs a fake life and that includes a fake facebook account, fake address, fake school, etc. Jooyeon takes care of all of that.”

Voices from the living room echoed and reached the office.

“Oh, I think they’re here.” Kahi said.

“Who?” Nana was surprised.

“The Project: Eve agents.” Kahi smiled

*The name Phyllis Gavin is somehow connected to me ^^,

No offense to Swifties, I'm also a fan of her music. It just came to mind and I thought including her would be fun.