My Pretty Woman

Chapter 1

"Are you sending me a minor--" He paused upon seeing Sandara standing in front of his desk, scanning her from her toes to her head. "You have no idea how awful she looks. She's wearing her grandma's grandma's dress to work with me. Are you kidding me?" He spoke into the phone while Sandara widened her eyes upon hearing his comments.

"It's my mo-" Sandara stopped as he raised his index finger, indicating for her not to speak.

It was her mother's best dress, though. He had just remarked how odd she looked to him. And a minor? Dara felt like she had to leave the room immediately so she could vent about how much more awful he was. She clutched her dress, trying to contain herself from yelling at the impeccably dressed man who was biting his lip while looking at her.

Here it goes, she thought.

He finally put his phone down and resumed his work, reading the paperwork, while Sandara still stood there, waiting for him to address her.

She opened her mouth, finally. "So I guess that's a no," she said hesitantly before turning her back and walking slowly to the door. However, she stopped before reaching it, then turned back to look at him directly and sharply. The speed and firmness of her steps made him look back at her. "And you know what? First, I'm not even a minor. I'm a 25-year-old woman. Second, it's my mother's dress! Her best dress. And lastly, you don't have the right to judge how awful I look when you're the shittiest person I've ever met." She chuckled coldly while looking at him closely.

His eyes locked onto hers while she blazed with anger, and somehow he felt an unfamiliar feeling inside his chest. Her brown eyes looked even more beautiful when she was upset. He placed the pen he was holding down on the paper and stood up from his seat, just to get closer to her. Unexpectedly, a soft smile appeared as he looked at her closely.

"Sandara Park, right?" Sandara gulped upon hearing him call her name.

Shit, did I just add some problems to my life with this guy?

******

[Flashback]

"Give me three more weeks! I promise! I promise I will repay everything I borrowed from you." She winced as she tiptoed, following the tall man's hand movements. She wished her hair would stay strong as it was pulled by the debt collector.

"Why should I trust you? You're a skilled liar." He pulled her hair even harder, causing her to scream in pain, but no tears filled her eyes. She wasn't the type to cry just because someone was pulling her hair. Roughly.

"Hey, sir, it's the last time. You know you can trust me. Now, please let go of me!" She chuckled as the debt collector released her hair from his tight grip. She smiled with her beautiful smile while patting his shoulder. "I will get some money, lots of money, so you don't need to worry, okay?" Then she turned, picking up her guitar case, her only precious possession. Her small body carried the guitar case on her back as she hurried away from the debt collector.

She sighed, but her lips still curved, showing her sweet smile. Despite facing the hardships of life at such a young age, Sandara always managed to maintain a positive outlook. She tried every kind of job in Seoul, but everything she did seemed useless as she still couldn't manage to pay back all her debts.

"I will evict you from that place if you don't pay me back in two weeks." Sandara stopped in her tracks, her smile fading as the debt collector mentioned the place she was staying. It was her father's house, the only thing he left for her besides all the money he borrowed from the debt collector. "Two weeks, Sandara Park," he repeated.

Her eyes started to tear up, but she took a deep breath before turning her gaze to the tall man and bowing towards them. "I'll try my best to get the money."