Room for Rent || Chaennie

Chapter 1

A tall and slender figure trudged along a quiet path home in the bitter cold, hugging herself a little tighter in the hopes of getting a tad warmer. She kept her head down and yawned widely, reaching out to rub her weary eyes.

"Please Mrs. Kang, please be asleep..." She mumbled to herself in a small voice as she approached an apartment. Then, as silently as she could, she stuck the key into the lock and unbolted the door. Noticing that the lights were all off, she heaved a sigh of relief and was about to head to her room when she almost tripped over a pile of stuff in her way.

The paranoid girl hurriedly flicked the lights on and her eyes widened at the sight. Her belongings were strewn all over. Still in a state of confusion and shock, she bent down and started to heedlessly gather the messy objects when suddenly, the door to one of the rooms flew open with a bang, further startling the poor girl.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... Park Roseanne... you've really got a lot of nerve, huh? Fancy sneaking back at 2am in the morning and trying to escape rent day!" An older woman stormed out of the room with her arms akimbo.

"Please, Mrs. Kang, I can explain. All I need is just one more day to get the money. Please give me another chance." The young girl pleaded helplessly. She was truly at her wits' end. She had to cope with college and a job. Life wasn't easy.

"Save your excuses. I've warned you too many times. I want you out of this apartment this instant. Get your junk and get out." Came the stern reply as the mean woman prepared to leave.

"Mrs. Kang, please." Was all the young lady could say at that point in time. She was exhausted from a long day at school and work, hungry, and cold. Not having a bed to sleep in would really be the cherry on top of such a horrible day.

"Five minutes, Roseanne. I want this place empty." The obnoxious woman replied curtly before returning to her room and slamming the door behind her.

At that, the weary girl crumbled to the floor and continued to collect her things. Looks like she was going to have to spend her night at some deserted bus stand.

Just then, the door to the room opened again and the woman emerged. Roseanne's face lit up. Perhaps Mrs. Kang wasn't that heartless a person after all.

"Keys." The abhorrent woman reached out, almost irritated. Roseanne could do nothing but reach into the pocket of her trench coat to retrieve the piece of cold, hard metal.

"You have four minutes left." The woman instructed rudely before disappearing into her room once again.

-----

Roseanne dragged her feet until she could walk no further and eventually settled down at the next bus stop. People in this situation would typically be bawling their eyes out but not Roseanne. She had gone through too much to even care about how pathetic her life was right now. As much as she felt utterly upset and depressed, she had neither the time nor the energy to indulge in self-pity.

As she scanned the surroundings and devised a proper sleeping position, she noticed a lone brochure on the ground with huge red letters "Room for Rent" printed on it.

"Gosh, this must be fate. Thank you so much. Thank you!" Roseanne almost brought the leaflet up to her lips for a kiss when she realized that it was probably infected with billions of germs and decided against it.

"Please contact Jennie Kim." She read the words out loud before hastily grabbing her cell phone and punching in a string of numbers. She didn't care that it was past two in the morning. The cold was too much for her to take. She could really use a warm bed.

"Hello?" A deep voice from the other end greeted promptly. Roseanne was surprised that the person actually answered so soon.

"Um... is this Jennie Kim?" Roseanne continued.

"Miss Kim is currently in the process of her beauty sleep. May I help you?" The man replied.

"Miss Kim? Must be some rich lady..." Roseanne accidentally stated aloud.

"I'm sorry?" Came the feedback from the other end.

"Ahem, I mean, uh... yeah, I just picked this flyer up... is there still a room available for rent?"

"Most certainly, ma'am. We could arrange for transportation to pick you up this very moment if you would please."

"Woah, hold on a sec there! I haven't even asked about the room rate yet." Roseanne started to feel increasingly uncomfortable as the conversation went on. She had a sinking feeling that rent was going to be a huge problem.

"Oh, that. Of course. It is two hundred thousand won a month, inclusive of everything you can use in the apartment. Transport services included."

"No. Freaking. Way. Are you even serious? Two hundred thousand won a month? Are you sure this isn't some sort of joke?" Roseanne couldn't keep help but let her jaw drop. She had to pay Mrs. Kang close to six hundred thousand won every month. This was quite an exquisite deal. Transport services even. Wow.

"Miss Kim absolutely does not joke about such issues, ma'am."

"Um... so when can I move in?" Even though Roseanne still had her doubts, this option was definitely much better than having to spend the night out in the cold.

"Right now, if you want. As mentioned earlier, transportation can be arranged for you to be picked up."

"That would be nice. Thank you very much." Roseanne smiled gratefully.

-----

A dumbfounded Roseanne found herself being led to her room. She still hasn't managed to get over the huge limousine that drove her all the way to this apartment and now she was looking at this gigantic space. By golly, it was the biggest room she had seen in her entire life. Sure, she expected this Jennie Kim to be rich, but certainly not this rich.

There was a queen-sized bed with pink sheets, a fifty-inch pink television, proper heating facilities, a huge study desk (also pink), as well as a wardrobe (yep, you guessed it, pink) large enough to store ten times the amount of clothes she brought. The walls were painted light pink and Roseanne felt a little overwhelmed at the thought that she might be living with some princess that required high maintenance. Major high maintenance.

"Have a good night's sleep, Miss... uh, how should I address you?" One of the servants asked.

"Just call me Roseanne."

"Miss Roseanne. Goodnight." The servant nodded before turning to leave.

"Um no. None of that missy stuff. Just Roseanne." The tall girl quickly added. She definitely was not used to being waited on.

"Of course, Roseanne. Please rest well. Oh, also, if you ever need anything, just ring that bell on the table and we'll attend to you." The servant managed a slight smile before leaving and closing the door gently.

When she was sure she was alone, a million questions and qualms entered Roseanne's mind.

"Who exactly am I living with? She sounds like some kind of monster. A monster princess perhaps. And exactly how many servants does she have? Gosh, does she even have one who bathes and dresses her?" She pondered, her brows creasing even more with each uncertainty.

Roseanne was bullied all through high school. Mean girls would just go up to her and tug at her hair or try to knock her over. Yes, those mean, rich girls. They're all the same. They think that just because their parents are filthy rich gives them every right to do as they please.

As more and more images of Roseanne's past flashed through her disoriented mind, she got more worried. Perhaps she had jumped at this offer way too soon. She knew how things were going to end if she stayed. She was going to have a problem with this Miss Kim. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't herself she was worried about.

Since Roseanne had spent the better part of her life pretty much alone, she had learnt how to fend for herself. Mean, rich girls no longer faze her and she would not hesitate to put up her fight if she ever had to deal with one. She could already see herself beating this girl up. The mere thought of it scared her.

"Darn. I really need to move out tomorrow."

That said, she left her stuff unpacked and hopped into bed, careful not to wreck anything. She dozed off within minutes.