No. 01

I had been at this company for about a month and was ready to quit, I still had eleven months in my contract though. I had heard from other employees in the lounge that a new contract worker will come for six months, I was hoping that we could connect because she would probably become a gopher like me in terms of doing other work that they don't want to do. I could choke all the my coworkers with all the work they push on me. The only reason they look down on me is because I don't have a full time job, I want to quit. I walk to the fax machine and insert a few papers and then leave for the lounge to get my lunch. Opening the fridge, as always I see my lunch one and turn around to see the manager sitting at his desk eating my lunch, I dislike him the most out of everyone here. All he does is flaunt that he is the manager and piles his work on me and a few other employees. I started talking to Ha-Joon my only friend in this dump and ask him about the new contract worker.

"Hey Ha-Joon, do you know when the new employee is supposed to come?"

"No but I am excited to get to a talk to a new face instead of just getting yelled at by the Manager."

I look at him somewhat hurt, did he mean he doesn't like talking to me?

He had taken notice of this and corrected himself, "I don't mean that I don't like you! You're my best friend in the company." His face showed pity towards me, I hated when people looked at me with pity.

"I know you didn't mean it like that," in times like this I usually smile my way through it. Silence comes between us and I go back to my seat, I look at Ha-Joon and notice more about him, he is tall and as a handsome face with soft eyes, he is kind to everyone in the company. Everyone likes him except the manager because he thinks Ha-Joon is stealing his "harem" of office women. That of course doesn't include me. To everyone in the office I am the poor, ugly, employee that is free to be looked down upon. Not that they know that I put freckles on my face and wear glasses to the point you can't see my eyes, I'm practically blind. The Manager is on the heavier side and he had sweat folds and was ninety-five percent a pervert.

He came into the office and announced his entrance by saying, "Everyone stand up! we have the new comer here today and I want you all to treat her with respect!"

That surprised most of us as he never respect anybody and new they don't treat contract workers with respect. I was lost in thought until a petite woman came in that looked like a high schooler, she was wear blue and floral things and had big bright eyes, is she naturally like that or is trying to be cute to impress people? She was smiling brightly at everyone in the office until her gaze landed on me and she had a sharp glare, but is was only for a moment so no one saw, but I definitely saw it. She's up to something.

I want to quit. Ever since Bianca Baek the new coworker came, everyone has been coddling her, even the manager. She starts getting teary eyed every time she does something wrong which is a lot and the male portion of the office comes running to her aid, that includes Ha-Joon. He had recently started to ignore me and look at me with disgust, it was surprising at first but I got used to it. Everything went back to how it was before I became friends with Ha-Joon, I am ignored and only talked to when people don't want to do their work. I thought about it more and I realized I hadn't taken a break for myself in over a year and never do anything fun, just wake get to work, leave work eat then sleep. Everyday has been the same, so I want to change it up. I want to stand up for myself and tell my work mates to do their own work.

I had gotten up earlier to pump myself up for today, I got up and tied my hair in a tight bun as usual, went to my bathroom mirror and didn't draw as many freckles on my face and put on a little lip gloss, it felt weird on my lips. My cat was watching me as I rushed through my apartment. Before leaving through the door I bow and say goodbye to the picture frame on the mantle. I went down the hall to the elevator and entered with a man in the corner wearing a gray hoodie. He looks creepy, but I have seen him on several occasions helping people within the apartment complex. I get off on the ground floor wave to the desk attendant, passing the mailboxes I go past the residents' last names until I get to Ryu, my last name. Opening it with my key I find a package and go outside to open it at the bus stop. The weather is nice, or at least for me, The sky is clouded over but has a warm hue, the smell of fresh rain and dew is present along with a warm breeze blanketing everything. The bus stop is only visited by me because the people in this neighborhood have their own cars, or chauffeurs. The package in my hands is a black matte box with a bright white ribbon. It was my order from 복덩이(bok-deong-ee) it means lucky charm or lucky gift. I had never really believed in superstition but if the jewelry does bring me luck, I will be forever grateful. The ribbon undoes itself with a slight tug and the box doesn't have an address or label for shipping. How did they know where it was going? The inside of the box was lined with sage green silk. a small bow was in the middle that was made out of a dark wood and shaped like a pill, after opening it the inside revealed the most beautiful charm of a tiger standing over a mountain protecting it carved out of pure jade. It was beautiful and the most delicate thing I have ever seen. I put it back in the wooden case and put it in the inside pocket of my coat. The bus comes around the corner and stops in front of me. The steps are steep, so hanging onto the railing helps me a lot. The bus driver bows his head to me and I greet him, he was nice to me and smiled. I put the wooden case in the black box and put it in my bag, I like to call it the Mary Poppins bag because it can hold and hide many things. I go digging for a few minutes in my bag and get my phone and headphone out and listen to my favorite playlist.