Kim Seok-jin [Important guest] (BTS)
Kim Jennie [Young, savage woman working at the event] (BLACKPINK)
🍋
After Jong-dae had given my essay to Byul-yi, the young woman wanted to meet up with me after work on Tuesday. She was a tattoo artist and used the basement of a salon as her shop. She didn't have tattoos herself but was very passionate about creating symbols, writing styles, and drawings for her customers.
"Here, I made some green tea." Byul-yi handed me a white mug decorated with pretty roses. She smiled at me while doing so, her brown eyes mustering me gently. I had immediately taken notice of her long peroxide blonde hair and her unisex sense of clothing style. She wore baggy black pants with chains hanging from them and a long white shirt, twice her size.
"Thank you," I immediately said and put the warm mug between my cold fingers. The wonderful aroma filled the small reception area and made me think back at all the times my mother had brewed green tea with ginger when I had been ill.
"Thank you for coming," she replied, her smile still sweet and reassuring. "I know you're a busy student," she added kindly. In the dark, I had imagined her to have a wild personality but she had a gentle and optimistic side.
"Oh, it's fine. I do need my breaks; it's impossible to learn all the time."
"I see. Let's get to the point then, shall we?" Byul-yi took a sip of her tea, then looked into my eyes again and her facial expression turned serious.
"Your essay was pretty unique. I like your writing style and the way you're viewing our world. I'm pretty sure it's going to reach so many civilians simply out of the reason that you not only criticize Bangtan but the whole society of Korea. I'd like to make you a request though. I'm thinking about fusing your commentary with mine and making it into a super informative and emotional reportage. What do you think? You can tell me if you don't like the idea."
I was glad that she liked my piece of writing. To be honest, I was afraid she wouldn't after I had read her essays with her permission. She had worked on a professional level.
"You can use it in every possible way you want to. I'm just happy that you like it since you're an amazing writer," I replied truthfully.
"I'm older than you by some years and have more experience because of that fact but that doesn't mean that your work's worth is less. You've done a great job, really," she told me with so much sincerity, it made me tear up a little bit. I was very thankful for her honest opinion. "I'm going to need some time to type everything and sum it all up for Ji-soo but I'm pretty sure I'll be done the next week."
I nodded understandingly, following her every word. There was a question in my head however that I had wanted to ask her for a long time.
"Have you ever worked as a journalist?" I finally asked her.
She looked at me for a long time, probably contemplating if she should answer me or not. The blonde young woman placed her mug atop the counter and leaned against the wall next to it, her arms folding in front of her chest.
"It was my side job for a long time but I was forced to quit. Bangtan is kind of vicious in that way."
I nodded understandingly.
"It's terrible. Those reports were the most honest ones out there. I have always liked to read them...to view the world as it was and not let the TV and politician's speeches manipulate me", I told her.
"Sadly not everybody has taken the warnings seriously", Byul-yi replied.
"Or maybe they have been too afraid to accept the truth. It's easier to live in ignorance after all."
"That's harsh", she commented but pursued her lips into a small smile nevertheless at my statement. Her brown eyes stared deeply into mine. "I'm glad that someone like you is part of the group."
I smiled as well. "I'm thankful that you're letting me be a part of it."
🍋
Attending college, learning for every single lecture, giving Yuggy private lessons in Literature, going to the group meetings that were held once a week, speaking with my family but still hiding my rebellious involvement in politics, going to work, and lying to my boss about my secret behavior as well; soon it got harder for me to fall asleep. I was getting paranoid, identifying every little creak in my apartment as an intruder who was out there to kill me. Or kidnap me. I had been in that misfortunate situation before. And I didn't want to be in it again. Although D.O hadn't turned up at the apartment complex since he had threatened me with the number "two" I still tensed up when I left my home or when I went home after school. Bangtan knew where I lived. However, they didn't know about the letter I had received from Lisa. They would have already come to get me if they had. D.O would have probably taken me with him if he had known.
To make me feel safer I had bought a cheap phone and used that one to keep in touch with Jong-dae and never miss out on any important information that the group had to offer. I hid that device behind my nightstand since I didn't dare to keep it on me while being out on the streets. Carrying my regular phone with me made me feel at unease sometimes. What if they were able to track me down?
They probably were. It was only up to them if they wanted to or not.
"We're finished", Jong-dae stated on the phone after one whole month of constant work and discussions. My heart raced at his words. We were finally finished with the commentaries and the posters. I sat on my bed, pulling my legs closer to my body, hugging my knees as they began to tremble.
"So...what is next?" I asked him, making sure he couldn't hear the uncertainty in my voice.
"Printing out the posters and commentaries and scattering them around the town."
"I can help you with that. In the university library, there's a possibility for us students to use the printer room."
"I don't think that your school is the best place for it. It's not the safest place. If somebody sees you there and gets to have a glance on the posters...it might give you trouble if the wrong people get to hear about it."
And Bangtan already knew about me through Lisa.
"Then I can just go to any other library in the town. Just give me a USB stick and I can help you print out the flyers."
"In every library, there are surveillance cameras that they can check out after they get to know about the papers. You can bet that after that they're going to do a lot of research. We need to be very careful."
"Then...how can I help?", I asked him.
"Meet up with me and Byul-yi at her tattoo shop tomorrow at 7 p.m. I'm going to print as much as I can at home. She's going to do the same since she's also got a printer at her apartment. Then we're going to discuss all of the locations we need to visit and scatter around the flyers in small pairs of two."
"All right. Then...until tomorrow."
"Take care, Odette."
"Yeah, you too."
I sighed after the call had ended, trying to let go of the stress and worry that slowly crept up my back. This whole situation became more dangerous. We weren't allowed to slip up and make any mistake or everything we had worked on so far would be destroyed.
I turned around and slipped the phone behind my nightstand again, stood up from the bed, and left my bedroom. After I had entered the kitchen I decided to make myself a hot chocolate and sat with my warm mug at my desk where I continued studying, shaking off the dread yet again.
I wasn't allowed to let my fear get in the way. Not when we had reached so far.
🍋
Given February, the next day's evening was foreseen to be a cold one. With my favorite green jacket and my red scarf around my neck, I got on the bus that was meant to drive me to the station which was the nearest to Byul-yi's tattoo shop. There weren't many people riding the bus at this time. Some got on, some got off. People were scattered around in the vehicle, everybody very much capable of finding an empty seat, even an empty row. While I was looking out the slightly draggled window, having all the thoughts taking up my mind, I almost didn't sense that someone sat down on the empty seat next to me. I had only taken notice of him when his familiar voice resounded.
"Of course, you couldn't stay still at home", he stated, the scent of smoke hitting my nose as I looked at him. His dark brown eyes found mine, while his black mask hid his face, and his cap made sure to reduce the possibility of someone identifying him. But I knew those eyes that often watched me with boredom or annoyance.
"Of course, you would be invited too", I replied in the same tone, mustering Jeong-guk.
There was no way we met each other at school anymore but he had appeared twice at the group meetings. Dealing with him was still not easy.
Jeong-guk averted his gaze after my remark and looked in front of him instead. He didn't respond. Not that he needed to.
"Don't you have school tomorrow? This task is going to take up the whole night."
Sleeping was probably the messiest topic he could have brought up. I had always been a deep sleeper and now there was no way I could doze off properly.
"I don't care. I normally have a pretty good sleep schedule, so messing up one night with no rest won't kill me", I said.
"We can only hope that nobody's going to be killed until the morning."
My stomach churned at his words. Wonderful. He had managed to put even more dreadful thoughts in my head. Couldn't he for once leave me be?
"Can it be that you're scared?", I asked him, masking up my inner emotions, putting my left hand over my right one to stop them from trembling. He had noticed my reaction, his eyes igniting with mine after he had watched me tremble.
"I think you are", he said.
I didn't take my eyes off his ones.
"Isn't it rather exciting? Doing something rebellious in the middle of the night?"
He didn't reply but his bigger hand found mine, his skin so much warmer than mine. "You should have brought some gloves."
I didn't understand his behavior at this moment but I also didn't pull away.
"You're not my babysitter anymore", I reminded him, not getting into my head why he was touching me. But somehow I felt calmer, even reassured at one point.
Nobody would be dying. As if he had just signalized that through the way he warmed my hands.
"No. But since I quit my job you seem tenser."
His words didn't sit well with me. Why did he care? Had he also gotten a letter from Lisa? Had she asked him to continue protecting me? I still didn't understand this guy. And I assumed that I would never really get behind his real thoughts.
"Who wouldn't be? The election is only two months away."
Korea's future depended on that day. Our future.
"You should go back to only studying as you have before", he advised me but I wouldn't listen. Not when we had come so far. I couldn't back off now. "It's not too late", he added. His words only motivated me to do the opposite.
"It's not too late to save Korea", I replied.
Jeong-guk redrew his warm hands after my answer, huffing. Then he stood up and left me there alone, going behind me, finding himself a different empty seat.
His calming gesture still lingered on my hands that had stopped trembling. I was sure about my actions again. Nobody could stop me from giving my all and showing my middle fingers to Bangtan as I would spread around the posters.
After I had exited the bus and stood at the familiar station, I quickly found my orientation and went along the pavement that would lead me to Byul-yi's workplace. Jeong-guk followed me which I only noticed by glancing behind me after I had felt a presence near me. His eyes were set on me, boring into my soul as I had only looked at him shortly. I didn't care that he wasn't a fan of my decisions. So I averted my gaze again and gave today's task all my attention. I couldn't let him rail me up like this. We weren't friends. Not even fellow students anymore. He had been a stranger to me for a while now.
After going down the stairs, I entered the tattoo shop and was greeted by Byul-yi and Jong-dae. Both of them had already been there, the stacks of posters and flyers were placed on the cabinets. After having the usual small talk and making sure everybody was ready to sacrifice all night for our serious task, Jong-dae split us up in pairs. Thankfully Jeong-guk and Byul-yi were in one team and so I was able to go with Jong-dae. We had discussed which places we needed to visit and mark, making sure that every team would cover half of the town. It would have been so much quicker if we'd done one quarter alone but for the policeman, it was too dangerous to roam the town on our own at night. I didn't mind going in pairs. Especially since the nighttime was adored by gangsters who usually went out to cause trouble in the dark.
We went by bus, subway, and on foot, putting the flyers up on the walls of buildings with sticky tape and scattering the commentaries on the ground of very much known and lively places that people often visited in the daytime. We hurried, never staying too long at one location, and used up a lot of rolls of tape. I had never walked into the town at night but after two hours I became very used to the street lights or even the absence of any light. Loud music blasted out in clubs, sometimes the noisy laughter and chatter clouded my head as we had crossed the street when a group of youngsters was about to approach us. Nobody bothered us, questioned us, and wouldn't recognize us given the masks we wore—not an uncommon sight. Sometimes intoxicated guys wanted to get a hold of me but Jong-dae had always dragged me away from them and we continued our important work. I noticed the lack of gangsters and how most of the active people at night were normal citizens who enjoyed themselves. It honestly made me wonder if our group was the only one dreading Korea's future. By the way, people drank and loved the high that the drugs gave them I couldn't help feeling distressed throughout the night. They grinned as they stumbled out of the clubs, and lit their cigarettes that had more odor of weed than tobacco, the disgusting smell of the smoke making me feel even more nauseous and irritated. I continued following Jong-dae despite the negative feeling in my gut, hung up posters and the commentaries of the wall of cafés and even nightclubs, had the urging wish to stick it to the annoyingly satisfied faces of the young and the old.
As time went by, the stack of posters in my hands got slimmer, only up to 200 papers were left in my hands at two in the morning. Jong-dae had carried more than me being the one holding onto the commentaries Byul-yi and I had written. As we walked, another seductive Korean R&B song reached my ears, being louder and clearer as I took another step in front of me, still clutching on to the flyers. My hands were very cold at this point, freezing even because of the low temperature outside. I pulled on my red scarf, putting it higher, covering my cold nose with it. Jong-dae only wore his leather jacket but he didn't seem to mind the cool breeze in February. I watched him scatter around more of the commentaries on the ground when I felt a sudden wave of warmth through my thick jeans on my shin. I halted when I had lost that comforting feeling and looked back to the building which walls vibrated through the deep bass that was playing inside. I could hear high-pitched cheering that was somewhat drowned by the music at times. I backed, nearing the club as I felt the warmth again. There were radiators placed outside, right at the windows where there was the possibility to sit at the tables. Nobody was outside, so I dared to get closer to the warmth. I got distracted by the flashing lights that shone through the windows after I had gotten quite comfortable, standing so close to the heat. I could see the silhouette of someone dancing. I saw hands in the air, some holding cash as it seemed. Was that a strip pole? I looked up the building, reading the name "Play-Boy" which must have hinted enough that in fact, this was a strip club. I wasn't very fond of the concept of dancing in front of strangers in only underwear and letting them put money in your panties and bras but for each their own.
"You may go in", someone suddenly said right behind me. Very much startled, I whirled around and lost some posters by shortly letting go of the papers I held, only to catch them again but I couldn't stop some of them from landing on the ground. I immediately crouched down to pick them up.
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." The stranger helped me to my despair, holding on to one sample in his hand, skimming it before his kind eyes ignited with mine. I was taken aback by him for a moment. I knew him from somewhere but I couldn't pinpoint from where exactly. He looked normal. Not like a thug. Not like someone who would mean danger. But I sensed that behind his soft features and full lips there was something very not normal about him.
"It's okay", I reassured him, snatched away the poster out of his hand, and stood up. It must have been okay. I was wearing a mask after all.
The stranger also rose, stood taller before me. This guy only wore a red sweater which was even more unbelievable than Jong-dae's light outfit.
Now that I thought of it, I had come down the path and lost sight of the policeman. I excused myself and went by the male, continued on my way, my attention on my partner who I couldn't find yet. I hurried along the way, tried to ignore the situation from before, and the cold biting into my skin that I had warmed at the heaters. At one point I saw Jong-dae going in my direction. "I thought I lost you!" he scolded me slightly, given that he did feel like my protector. I apologized to him and promised not to make another pause without noticing him about it. After he felt reassured and calm again, we went on with the task.
It must have been five in the morning when we had visited our last important location and used up all of our samples. "Good job, Korean citizen", Jong-dae praised me with a smile and held up his hand to high-five with me. I did and smiled as well. The cold weather and the exhaustion from the walk had taken up so much of the energy that I felt as if I could sleep all day. Maybe it was time for me to skip lectures. Just once. The policeman accompanied me to my apartment complex and waited until I opened my door and entered my home. It had been a very sweet gesture of his.
I took off my shoes after I had locked the entrance door again, yawned, and directed myself towards my bedroom where I almost immediately took off my clothes and changed into my pajamas and a warm and fluffy sock. After a quick visit to the bathroom, I decided to put myself to sleep. I didn't set my phone on any alarm, decided to rest the whole day, and closed my eyes as I buried myself under my thick blanket. Just before I could have dozen off, the normal guy appeared in my mind. And as if it had clicked in my brain, I suddenly remembered that I had met him back then when I had been on my way home after that weird situation at the supermarket. And I wasn't sure about that being a silly coincidence or something entirely different. It worried me nonetheless and I couldn't find peace again, lying in my bed awake even though I had been so tired just a moment before.
🍋
Something seemed to shift after that particular night. People got quieter around me. In my university they stopped talking loudly, at the bakery I worked, the customers didn't sit down anymore to enjoy their pastries and coffee as they did before and generally fewer people sat outside. The parks were pretty much empty, the restaurants weren't as full anymore. I didn't mind the silence but I wasn't sure what to think about this sudden change in SM town. A very slight number of posters hung around, most of the papers had been gone and I wondered if the citizens had taken them or if the gangsters and everybody who supported them threw them away. Or burned them. I hoped that my first assumption was right. Our efforts shouldn't go to waste.
"This is nuts. People have been getting private since the appearance of those stupid posters and the wild commentaries. As if the whole town is getting ready for war," Joo-hyun said after our shift had ended. She put up the closed sign and started cleaning the tables even though nobody had sat at them the whole day. I had seen her disapproval of the flyers coming but it still made me realize again that she wasn't on my side of this battle against Bangtan. However, she was right that this silence had a choking feeling that something terrible was going to follow. Or something extraordinarily great. Something near to protests and loud disapproval of the citizens when the election day would come.
I only hummed and collected all of the leftover pastries in the paper bags. The ones I wanted to bring back home with me I had put separately.
"You've been silent today as well, Odette. Did something happen?" she questioned me. I looked at her and smiled reassuringly.
"No, everything's fine. I just haven't slept that well this week."
She nodded understandingly. "You had more to study I bet."
"Yeah, but I can deal with that. College is meant to be harder at times."
When we talked about the school we were on the same page but sadly when there was the talk about Korea's future we couldn't find common ground. And the fact that she was involved with Bangtan was also unnerving.
"Well...anyway. I hope that this weird behavior of the people will stop soon," she told me. I hummed again, feeling another wave of exhaustion nagging at my brain. I was so ready to sleep. After finishing work for the day I went to the back room and put off my apron, freed my curly hair off that stern bun.
Joo-hyun followed me soon after, also took off her working clothes, and changed.
"I know that you wouldn't work tomorrow normally but is there a way for you to maybe change your shift with that on Monday and come in at nine in the morning tomorrow?"
I looked at her, thinking for a moment. I hadn't planned anything for the day after. It was Saturday after all.
"Sure, I can come in tomorrow," I finally replied.
"Great, thank you. That's a lot of help. I need you to deliver pastries to one event that's going to be held tomorrow. The customer must get them on time. It wouldn't take long."
"That's okay. At what time do they expect it?" I asked her.
"They need these sweets at four in the afternoon. I'm going to mail you the address" my boss explained.
I had done the deliveries before. It wouldn't be a problem for me, so I agreed with her task.
"Oh, and Odette." She looked at me, a serious gaze in her eyes.
"Yes?"
"We make no difference with any customer, that's what I've told you once. However, this particular customer won't need to pay."
If she made it that way, I wasn't one to oppose.
"I understand."
It seemed as if she wanted to tell me more as if there was something on her mind that she needed to get off, but she let me go for the day and so I said my goodbyes and went home.
🍋
After being some hours at work on the day after, there was finally time for me to take the velvet-colored box full of prepared sweets with me to the location that Joo-hyun had sent me. I took the bus to the nearest station of the address and followed the instructions of Google Maps to finally find one fancy building in the center of SM Town. It had big windows and the walls were painted in a rich beautiful pastel brown. I hoped they would believe that I was a worker at Joo-hyun's bakery. Just to make sure I had even more evidence, I opened my green jacket so that they could see the name tag on the velvety apron. I entered the building, was almost immediately stopped by one of the women standing on the inside by the entrance. She greeted me and watched me patiently with a friendly smile.
"Good afternoon. I'm here to deliver the pastries from the Velvet Sweets Bakery", I greeted her as well.
"The second floor to the right there is a hallway that leads to the kitchen area. Please speak to the staff there, they will know where to put the box," she instructed me.
"Thank you very much," I politely replied and went straight to the elevator, choosing the second floor as my option. After I had followed her description I quickly found the kitchen, but there was no one there at the moment. I stood there for a while, looked around, and decided to put down the box in the end. I was about to exit the room and go search for someone when an elderly man was hurrying in my direction.
"Oh! Good afternoon, I'm from Velvet Sweets Bakery, and I-"
He didn't even let me finish, interrupting me with his stressed gestures.
"Mr. Kim is going to appear any minute now! There's no time to lose! Go up now! We need to greet him respectfully."
What? I looked at the man very much confused, however, not letting me slack off or whatever he saw me doing in his clouded and very much confused mind, he got a hold of my underarm and literally dragged, and then pushed me in the direction he wanted me to go. „Hurry, hurry!"
What the actual fuck was going on?
He waved quickly at me, signalizing to me with his body language that I should go up the stairs. Very much irritated I did. But then he stopped me again by calling me Miss and pretty much rushed up to me and pushed the velvet-colored box into my hands.
"Go! Go!"
And so I continued taking the steps to the third floor where a lot of the staff was organizing a huge hall. There were small tables decorated with alcohol or pastries and other fancy-looking snacks. I stood there pretty much dumbfounded and lost. One of the women working there took the box out of my hands, looking at me quite distinctly. It was pretty much obvious that I was an outsider with all those workers in the same outfit and me in my usual jeans and green jacket and that velvet colored apron.
The pastries being in good hands, I turned around and decided that I should leave quickly. I didn't want to participate in anything stressful. I didn't particularly need that after this week. I had done and lived enough. I took the elevator down the first floor and was about to make more or less the rushed walk out of this building while wearing a fake sweet smile as I looked at the woman standing at the exit. I had no real chance of making that run in the end. Just as the door opened and I stepped out of the elevator, the entrance door was opened by two huge dudes and I had the best view of a guy with light pink-colored hair who entered the building at that very point. He wore a black suit, his pleased eyes roaming the whole place until they met me. Then he didn't seem pleased anymore, but rather surprised as the seconds went by. I stood still, only snapping out of my wonderings as the elderly male from before had gotten a hold of me and pulled me in the row of the other workers who bowed their heads in respect for the guest.
The elderly man who then let go of my arm, deeply bowed his head, more than the other workers. As if saying sorry for before. I watched as the seemingly very important guest continued his way in the direction of the elevator. But he slowed down at the row of workers I stood with. Young males and females in rosé and black-colored clothing stood next to me. I observed them the same way the guest probably did until the elderly male beside me slightly hit my arm and gestured with his stance that I should also bow my head. Yet I didn't listen, took in the sight of the guest a little longer before my eyes were glued on fierce red hair. As the pink-haired man continued his way and got closer to me, I got a glimpse of the face of someone I had only met once before but it was more than impossible to forget about him. Especially his threatening words. This guy was V, the one who had sat behind his desk, mustering me intensely while calling me little bird.
My attitude towards the elderly male's order changed drastically as I felt my heart skip a beat and my body tense up. I quickly bowed my head to hide my face when the red-haired guy's blue eyes had curtly ignited with mine. Why was he here? I felt my heart racing in my chest as the footsteps came closer.
Shit.
I closed my eyes and tried to calm down. There was no way he would remember me, right? My hair was in a bun and I wore different clothes. He shouldn't be able to identify me. I hadn't been an important suspect and that horrible incident had been two months ago. There was no way he would still know who I was.
The footsteps stopped in front of me but I didn't dare to look up. Even if I felt more than two pairs of eyes on me; I wouldn't look up.
"Mr.Oh", the highly respected guest began talking, his shoes having the same color as his hair strands. "I want every single host to be changed into proper clothing when I walk into this room a second time."
Was he talking about me?
"Yes, of course, Mr.Kim", the elderly male beside me agreed hurriedly.
Then the guest continued walking, and so did the red-haired guy with his brown shoes. "Oh, and Mr. Oh", the guest spoke yet again, "You might as well revise their behavior and go over the importance of Korean mannerism, politeness and respect while you're at it."
He was talking about me.
"Yes, Mr.Kim."
They both and the following security men took the elevators by the sound of the door opening and that curt beeping when he chose a particular floor. I stood still, especially since nobody began to move. Everybody stayed in their stance, maybe only lifted their faces. I only lifted my face, when the elderly male beside me grabbed me by my upper arm.
"That was terrible! So terrible! Everything should have been perfect by now! You need to change it! Quickly!" he ordered in his very so panicked state.
"I'd rather go", I said curtly and tried to walk out of this building desperately, but this man held on to me, pulled me back.
"You can't! Not when he saw you like this! You need to get dressed! Now!"
"I'm not even working here!", I argued, now getting very much bothered as well. I couldn't stay in a place where a Bangtan member had just walked in. Not when I had been kidnapped and got seated in front of him so he could question me about Lisa. God knows what he would have done if it wasn't for that observing guy, Junior, that had saved me.
In my desperation, I looked at the row of young people who did wear acceptable clothing. All of them watched me. One particular girl with thick long black hair but blonde strands on the front put into a ponytail walked toward us, her prettily shaped slanted eyes showing no strong emotions. Her smile threw me off.
"Mr.Oh, let me bring her to the women's restroom. I have some spare clothing with me", she said softly to him, putting a hand calmingly on his upper arm. The man let go of me then and the Korean girl kindly asked me to follow her. I did even though my head told me to make a run for it. She brought me to the restroom and told me to take off my clothes while she went to get a blouse and pants. I hesitantly did, noticing how my arms and my legs trembled. I hugged my body after I stood there in my underwear, my gaze on the mirror that showed me in this absurd situation.
What was I doing here? My head felt so heavy...and clouded. I couldn't think straight anymore, the traumatic incident of being kidnapped and being interrogated in that room created this tugging feeling in my stomach. I had the bubbling urge to throw up, drain my body of all the stress and fear.
The young woman came back after some time, her blonde strands in the front making it very much easy for me to identify her. She held the outfit in her hands, passed me the blouse with a sympathetic smile.
"Why do I have to change my clothes when I'm still not working here? I'm only here to deliver the pastries from the bakery I have a part-time job at, I'm in no way seriously involved with the event that's going to be held here."
And I especially didn't want to involve myself with people who surrounded themselves with the likes of V. With Bangtan. What if that important guest was also a member of the Mafia? He had acted so mighty and highly, spoken words in an arrogant and demanding way, amusement, and a sense of superiority lacing in his tone.
"That doesn't matter," the woman told me frankly as I put on the blouse that was smaller than my size. At the sleeves, it was pretty tight. I gave her a puzzled look since she didn't elaborate on her statement. She watched me button up the shirt and waited until I needed to ask that question that burned on my tongue.
"What do you mean it doesn't matter? I can't be just arranged to be on a job I haven't taken on. It doesn't happen like this."
"It does when Mr.Kim makes that order. He doesn't care that you're only a delivery person. If you're here—and you even stood in his way—then he is going to show off his power and have you change your clothes and play the role he wants you to play at that moment."
That's absurd.
She handed me the pants.
"These won't fit my thighs," I told her as I inspected the quite thin legs of the black material.
"Still try it on," she insisted.
"This is insane," I said to her, staring at her. "This is honestly scary at its best. Let me out of this bullshit tell your manager that I'll be gone before this particular Mr.Kim does his second round in the room." I handed the pants to her, but she pushed my hand back.
"There's no time. Now put on those pants and be thankful that after you walk out and bow your head again Mr.Kim won't complain to the manager another time. Then you may go back to your workplace and carry on with your life. You won't risk our job, nor this place with your childish resistance and ridiculous pride. Trust me, Mr.Kim isn't someone you want to fuck with."
Her insults and usage of a cussword made my eyes widen. She was pretty savage with that tongue of hers, her facial expression very much serious. I also thought of seeing annoyance in her eyes. I was surprised to have met someone this bold. Nowadays, a lot of people hid their true opinions, masked themselves with false truths.
However, this particular situation remained absurd and even humiliating. I didn't want to serve someone else's ego, hated to obey some prick's distaste in my pure existence.
"Who is this Mr.Kim anyway?", I asked with heated cheeks of surrender while putting on the black pants. It was ridiculously tight on my skin. I couldn't even button it.
"Korea's most successful businessman. His hands are everywhere. Especially the politics," she answered and gave me a small skirting that was of the same kind she wore as well. I put it on and tied it behind my back.
"Wasn't that hard, was it now?" she noted and opened the door to exit the restroom. I followed her into the large reception room where the rows of workers still stood. The manager went around, contemplating in his mind while talking to himself, still in a stressed way. As he set his eyes on me they lit up and he let out a sigh of relief. I couldn't return his happiness while being caged in way too small pants and a tight blouse. However, I didn't want them to have a worse time with this special businessman because of me. Even though I couldn't have helped not magically wearing the same professional clothes as the hosts here. This dude was seriously fucked up. No questions about it.
"Good! Very good!" the manager cheered, smiling at me while his hands still trembled with...fear. Maybe it was fear.
In the end, I stood next to the young woman who had forced me to get dressed in the same row of hosts. I was thankful for the skirting that hid the fact that I couldn't button up my pants. It didn't take very long when the doors of the elevator opened and the bodyguards showed the way out for Mr.Kim who strode with a quite satisfied look on his face along the marbled floor. We bowed our heads and I hoped to all the Gods above that the red-haired Bangtan member wouldn't recognize me further on. Yet again I felt burning eyes on me, my stress level rising as I saw those light pink and then brown shoes as they went by me.
I closed my eyes as I didn't see them anymore and prayed.
Go away. Go. Just go.
"Mr.Oh."
I winced.
"Yes, Sir?" the manager immediately replied.
"You could have at least given everybody the clothing size they wear, so nobody must feel uncomfortable." He laughed and his laugh was followed by mean snickering of the others. Mainly males.
Fuck you, Mr.Kim
"Yes, Mr.Kim", Mr.Oh answered.
With that, he was gone and I moved from my bowing and humiliated stance, rushed into the restroom where I got changed very fast, and threw the tight clothes I had to wear in the face of the young woman that angrily shouted, "Yah!" after me.
I was furious and so fucking disgusted with this fucked up Mr.Kim, that red-haired snake, that cowardly manager, and that forceful bitch. I had enough! I was so fucking over this bullshit.
🍋
I had gone by foot, almost jogging, blinded by my fury as I went directly into the direction the bus had taken me 20 minutes ago. After I calmed down a little bit I decided to take the bus to the station that I needed to get off. There I went my way to the bakery, opening the door forcefully, arriving in the warm accommodation almost out of breath and a focused gaze on Joo-hyun who stood behind the counter and was about to greet me probably but after she had noticed my sour mood she stayed silent. Her eyes almost seemed to beg me not to lash out but I couldn't hold back my bottled-up emotions.
"Did you know?" I questioned her and she seemed to know what I was about by my harsh tone.
"Odette—"
I interrupted her. "Did you know that Bangtan is involved in that event? Did you know that if you are there as a delivery person they make you change into too tight clothes and stand with bowed head, so they let you and the manager of the place off the hook? How messed up is that?"
"Odette, please, there's a gues--"
"And you said those commentaries and posters were stupid? People who let these arrogant thugs rule over them are stupid! People that hide and look away from the truth or let some superior businessman—who might be a Bangtan member as well since his wingman is definitely from the Mafia—walk all over them are such cowards!"
Joo-hyun cringed at my outburst.
I had been such an idiot that I had let them push me into a situation I hadn't wanted to be in at all. Those words never left my mouth because I realized that my boss and I weren't the only ones in this bakery. Droopy blue eyes ignited with mine as I had noticed the young Korean man that I had seen twice before. Chimchim took the last sip out of his velvet-colored mug and stood up. He walked in my direction, his hands in the pockets of his dark hoodie with an intense design on it. A white skull and a snake that was burrowed in the shells of its eyes. He smiled at me while watching me with those droopy-shaped eyes. He had looked me the same when he had warned me about the streets at night.
"Aren't they rather smart that they don't start a fight?", he asked me and walked by me as he waved Joo-hyun goodbye.
I just stood there with burning cheeks again and the deep-rooted embarrassment that crept up my neck, indulging in my mind.
Never talk about Bangtan. Especially, if it is to badmouth them.
The rule had been broken by me a couple of times. And now I had broken it in front of a stranger. A stranger that was just as shady as any potential follower of the gang.
"Odette," Joo-hyun called my name. It seemed as if she had done that more than once. I looked at her, my heart beating faster again. I couldn't react, felt very sick suddenly, nausea hitting me so much stronger than it had before. I ran to the door to the backroom and hurried to the next door that led me into the restroom. I had been just quick enough that as my face had leaned above the toilet seat, my body automatically emptied the content of my stomach. My body trembled, the tears streamed down my tears and I gagged and puked until I felt as if my soul had left my body. But I knew it still lingered above my heart as it tightened it. I felt a warm and reassuring hand stroking my back softly and heard Joo-hyun's hushed voice in my ear.
"Everything's going to be all right", she said but didn't make a promise out of it. It was better that she didn't. I wouldn't have taken her seriously if she had.
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