Jamais Vu

Chapter 4

March 2018

Sun Hee walked out of the bank feeling defeated. She looked back at the bank logo that was looking proud and majestic at the entrance of the building. Your needs is our priority, the bank tagline said. Sun Hee shook her head. They should add pompous and demeaning to the tagline.

The staff was not that helpful when she presented them with her business plan. They started to thumb their nose when she asked them to sample some of the bread she brought. She looked at her clothes and at her reflection on the glass paneled wall of the building nearby. She knew she checked her appearance hundreds of times before she went out of the small bakery that she is currently living in.

Life certainly had other plans for her. She was now venturing in as an entrepreneur. She ran a small bakery at the busy district of Yongsan-Gu.

She dressed as formal as she could. The old peach long sleeved blouse under her topcoat that she wore looks respectable. The long black pencil skirt that she wore was formal looking even though it does restrict her movement. The blouse was long enough to cover the top of her derriere that was accentuated by the skirt. She was curvy by Korean standard. Scratch that. She was considered as fat as she's 60kg even if she was 170cm tall. The people here didn't follow the BMI standard that much. If your weight was not minus 115 from your height, you were fat. It was clear cut and easy.

Sun Hee blew her bangs off her forehead. The bank was the sixth one that rejected her loan application for her small business. What was it about the plan that made the bank thought that she was a sure failure? She didn't ask for much. The loan was enough to cover the cost of an industrial sized oven, a dough proofer, plumbing and electrical work that was necessary for her small bakery. It could also cover for an expansion of the business. The next door's shop lease would end in a couple of months. She was eyeing on the shop as with it, she could finally operate as a bakery café where people would be able to sit down and enjoy their food there. She looked at the bread in her basket that she brought with her. The staff looked at it like she was bringing snake into the bank. When she offered them a taste of the bread, they replied that they can't accept any gifts.

Suh Hee rolled her eyes. She was not bribing them for a loan.

Was it because of her age? She was 27 year old, with enough experience after years of working in a bakery that was passed on to her when her employer, Ms. Oh In Soo - also known as Aunt Soo to her, retired. She had survived so far with the help of Aunt Soo and the customers were increasing steadily. She needed to hire more workers to cater to the demands and revamp the bakery in order to catch up with the current market.

Her stomach grumbled, signing that she hadn't had any meal since she woke up that morning. She looked at the bread basket forlornly. She didn't think she could eat, thinking about the loan but she had too. She removed the wrap from the bun and nibbled on it. It was not a fancy French bread like the current bread craze in Seoul. She was running a gluten-free and sourdough bakery. Sourdough bread took a long time to prepare but judging from her current customers' feedback, it was all worth it. It tastes delicious. She smiled to herself thinking of the happy face her customers when they complimented her on her food.

Reality hit and she shook her head.

This won't do. She needed to work on her non-existent Plan B. She had to find money fast. She saw a café nearby and walked in. A cup of coffee could probably help her to de-stress. She took out her file and pen and started to strategize as she sipped on her iced Americano.

She listed the banks she went and the ones she hadn't gone to. The ones around that area was covered. She needed to go to the other banks which offers small business loan. She did consider taking a personal loan but the interest rate would be high and the sum would be limited.

Loan shark?

Sun Hee shuddered. Again, with crazy interest rate, the money she could earn will never be enough to cover that up. The interest could double up, quadrupled to god knows how much. She had seen the shop few doors away from hers went under after they didn't meet the payment deadline. Then the owners fled. The constant harassing and terror was embedded in her head.

She wrote down another option. Sun Hee nearly laughed out loud as she finished writing.

The other choice she wrote was either finding a sugar daddy or a filthy rich boyfriend to fund her business. She put a big heart next to the sugar daddy for a good measure and she felt like giggling like a fool. Is 27 an old age to get a sugar daddy? One thing she knew, she sucks at those kind of thing and the thought of buttering up to an old man for money made her skin crawl. Rich boyfriend? She barely had enough time for herself let alone making time to go on boyfriend hunting. Hitting up on a customer would be foolish for the business.

She groaned and hit her forehead to the table which caused the nearby patrons to look at her warily. She really had to make her decision fast. It won't do her any good sitting there. She had to look for other options.

She took her drink and went out of the café, juggling her drink, tote bag, handbag and the bread basket. She was not paying attention to her surrounding when she bumped into someone right outside. The collision was hard enough that the cover of her drink popped up and spilled whatever content of it left to the guy she bumped into.

Sunhee was aghast. "Sorry!" she apologized hurriedly. She looked at the stain on the guy's clothes. The jacket looked expensive and she inwardly groaned as she automatically took a tissue out of her bag and trying to clean the stain knowing it was futile.

It was really a bad day.

"No, it's okay," the guy said.

That didn't stop Sunhee from trying to scrub off whatever came in contact with the guy's clothes. Her mind was roughly guessing the cost of the shirt and the jacket. She knew she couldn't buy new ones for compensation. It was a Dior. She figured dry cleaning would be much cheaper. She was glad she ordered iced Americano instead of the hot one. The hot drink would definitely cause more trouble and she could probably be sued because of it. Despite the temperature of the drink, the stain looked pretty nasty.

"Sunhee sunbaenim?" said the guy, stopping her hands instantly.

That sure got her attention. She froze and looked up. She didn't pay attention to the guy's face before. Her mind went straight to damage control when she spilled the Americano on him. He was wearing a bucket hat and sunglasses big enough to cover half of his face.

Sun Hee blinked "Hoseokkie?"

"Been a long time, sunbae," Jung Hoseok smiled at her widely.