Taeyeon 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 Taeyeon’s mother whose name is Hyoyeon. She had a reliable forecaster whom she believed could predict her future and even changed it, named Park Gyuri.

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

Merely 2 years after the marriage, her fate had changed for the better. Baek Hyeon became a successful businessman and bought her a house, not that big but enough for her families who consisted of Sang Yeon as the eldest, Taeyeon in the middle, and finally Jiyeon as the youngest. Yes, even her children had similar names just so she could maintain their family’s prosperity and yes, every now and then Hyoyeon still visited Park Gyuri just so she could plan their family’s future.

It’s not that Hyoyeon didn’t believe in God or anything but she would just feel more secured when she had told her share of stories regarding her husband, children, and personal matters to Gyuri and received the advice she needed. Undoubtedly, she would believe in Gyuri and do as she was told, regardless of how foolish it was.

One day Hyoyeon told Gyuri that her oldest son had a girlfriend named Hyomin and she told Gyuri about that. Gyuri told her that this Hyomin was only after her family fortune but she could act very well that Sang Yeon wouldn’t realize her true motives. Gyuri told her to sprinkle salt in front of Sang Yeon’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. She did that with discipline and right within the 8th day, suddenly Sang Yeon told her that Hyomin was found cheating on him and he immediately broke the relationship up.

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

Taeyeon was hospitalized for days but still, there’s no updated news from the doctor. Hyoyeon felt desperate and so she again went to Gyuri to tell her about her daughter’s illness. Gyuri calmed her down, telling her that she needed to feed Taeyeon only with plain porridge for 5 days and right after drink water which had been enchanted by Gyuri’s mantra, also for 5 days in a row. She 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.

Her children grew up as time went by and since their mother strongly believed in this physic called Gyuri, automatically her children were affected and trusted Gyuri as well. However, their father, Baek Hyeon was a logical man so he didn’t believe in magic thingy but he never prohibited either Hyoyeon or his children to visit Gyuri.

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

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“Yuri-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 lack experience! What am I gonna do about it, Yuri-ah? Help me.” Taeyeon pleaded to her friend, who’s also a daughter of Gyuri. So of course, Yuri 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.” Yuri told Taeyeon. She then sit cross-legged and made some space between Taeyeon and her. They were at Taeyeon’s house, playing as usual since they had been best friends since high school era years ago.

Accidentally, Gyuri’s daughter was at the same age as Taeyeon so it’s understandable if they often played and hang out together. Hyoyeon told Taeyeon to approach Yuri since Hyoyeon believed she would have reliable magic capacity inherited from her mother. Little did she know that actually Yuri was careless and that’s what made her much different from her mother.

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

Taeyeon left her bedroom and went to the kitchen to grab some snacks and prepare hot coffee for Yuri. It was her best friend’s habit that after meditating, she would drink black coffee with exactly one teaspoon of sugar. Taeyeon 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 Yuri had done with her meditation.

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

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

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

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

“Yes, I am.” Taeyeon 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. 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.” Yuri explained and Taeyeon had a blank face hearing the statement or more like the condition coming out from Yuri’s mouth.

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

“It’s up to you to believe in me or not.” Yuri stated.

“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, Yul. Isn’t there anything else I can do aside of that? Can’t I do it in the public bathroom instead?” Taeyeon 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, Tae. It’s not that you’d be jobless if you cannot join that company.” Yuri 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.” Taeyeon said with full of determination reflected from her eyes.

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

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

“So what is it about?”

“It’s just.. It’s been my dream since we graduated from college, Yul.” Taeyeon 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. I am too tired to tell fortunes again.” Yuri stood up and grabbed the remote. With that, they spent the rest of the day like normal best friends, and as a best friend, Yuri never once charged an invoice for her services to Taeyeon. She would just ask a treat from Taeyeon and the shorter woman would always provide her with that.

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“Yul, I got accepted!” Taeyeon ran to Yuri and hugged her best friend, crushing her body to Yuri.

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

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

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

“I will finish my business in the toilet. You can watch TV in my room or talk to my mother at the living room.” Yuri said before she walked briskly to the toilet.

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

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

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

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

“Of course not. Where is Yuri anyway?” Gyuri 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?” Gyuri offered her daughter’s friend.

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

“You look happy, Taeyeon. Something good happened?” Taeyeon 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 Yuri.” Gyuri’s smile filled with pride because she had taught Yuri well that she could be her successor sometime soon.

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

“Why is that, auntie?” Taeyeon was curious. She had fully known that Gyuri’s magic strength was much higher compared to Yuri. 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, Tae. 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.” Gyuri’s preaching was taken out seriously. Taeyeon comprehended, putting each word by word into heart before responding.

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

“It’s all coming back to you, Tae. 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?” Gyuri smiled. She hinted something and Taeyeon 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?” Taeyeon’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 wrong.” Gyuri’s words were wise and beyond Taeyeon’s brain capacity to understand so Taeyeon could only record the statements in her remaining brain’s memory and nodded her head.

“Tae, I am done! Let’s go to my room!” Yuri came from behind and tapped Taeyeon’s shoulder.

“Mom, I will take Taeyeon away, okay?”

“Of course.” Gyuri affirmed.

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

“Anytime, Taeyeon.” Gyuri went back to watching the movie and waved her hand.

“So, what did my mother say?” Yuri asked curiously as they ascended the stairs to Yuri’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.” Taeyeon chuckled.

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

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

“Undoubtedly.” Taeyeon wagged her eyebrows and Yuri never smiled wider proudly before.

---

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

“Okay.” Taeyeon 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.” Jessica added. Again, Taeyeon 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?” Jessica turned to Taeyeon, seeking for the answer. Jessica 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 Taeyeon; Taeyeon just knew she shouldn’t cause any trouble related to Jessica.

“Of course.” Taeyeon confirmed. Jessica 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. Taeyeon meekly followed behind, wondering how her boss would be. Jessica then knocked the door.

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

“Tiff, I bring your new team member, Kim Taeyeon.” Jessica entered the room first. There was a brunette woman and based from the appearance, Taeyeon would say that Tiffany 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.

“Taeyeon, this is Stephanie Hwang or usually called as Tiffany, your boss and head department of procurement. She was unable to interview you the last time so you just met her now.” Jessica turned to Taeyeon and said the basic information she should know about your boss.

“My name is Tiffany. You can call me Ms. Tiffany or boss or madam or even Tiff, 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?” Tiffany stood up, reaching out her hand and shook her hand with Taeyeon’s even only for 2 seconds and yet her grip was enough to elaborate how scary her boss would be.

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