UNKNOWN [SEULDY]

ONE

All Wendy wanted was a hot shower and a cold beer. She was sitting on a chair while her professor was giving another speech on how today's programmers ruined the industry's reputation with face swap apps and applications that no one should use nor need. It was a cold and rainy day in the capital of South Korea. Dark clouds were covering the clear sky and warm sun. Wendy was falling asleep which wasn't normally like her. For a small town girl, Seoul wasn't the cheapest city to live in. Wendy had stayed awake all night trying to find an apartment to stay in. The room in the shared apartment that she got used to calling home ever since she had moved to Seoul was set on fire and now wasn't habitable any longer. It was one of the girls' fault. The land lord ended their contracts immediately ignoring the girls' situation he would put them in after deciding that easily on their fate. Wendy searched the web and even read the newspapers daily hoping to find a place to live at. She was devastated and desperate. Even after only two years of knowing the life in Seoul it was as clear as fresh water to her that she was nothing without connections. At least here. Around this time of the year, fall to be exact, Wendy travelled to Seoul. First emigrating from the countryside in South Korea to the huge city Toronto, Canada a few years after she was born. Not only her but her whole family had been surprised by the official letter send by one of the best universities in Asia inviting her to come study there. She had made it. Those were her thoughts. She had proven she wasn't worthless after all. All of her parent's hard ships finally payed off. But now living the life of an adult Wendy herself had to face the same hard ships. Low on money, expensive school tuition and more worries just waiting around the corner. Wendy sighed. She had been working on getting out of the misery herself but every time she tried to it felt like she was midst crawling out of the deepest whole but there was not a single thing she could grasp onto. None of the listed apartments that were up for rent were near a price range that she could pay every month. Working at a Jjajangmyeon restaurant as a part time worker didn't cover the coast in the slightest. Wendy had to find a job with better payment to have a place to live at. Even if it only would be a tiny room. It seemed like there was no way of getting around it.
 But what could she do with no diploma midst her third year of university and with the little work experience that she gathered while living in Canada. Her class ended as quickly as it started. Very unusual for students to think but Wendy had always been the positive and cheerful kind of person.
She saw a joyful girl bouncing towards Wendy to approach her. Her hair was performing the same movement as her body. It was a shiny chocolate brown shade while Wendy's hair wasn't as glamorous but more eye catching because of it's color. She had dyed it into a warm blonde tone that reminded her of honey. The tall chipper girl stopped her movement with a jump in front of Wendy. "What's new, Honeydew?" The girl said smiling brightly. Wendy rolled her eyes at her friend's greeting. "Don't call me that, Sooyoung." "But it sounds so adorable and you have already given me a nickname. You named me Joy. You know, after my personality. Always bright, cheerful and joyful. If you ever need some happiness Joy will come to yourrescue." Wendy snorted. It was true that Sooyoung had more then not been a constant full of happiness and love in Wendy's life. "Don't make yourself sound like a super hero." Joy pouted at Wendy's words. "Still, I want one for you too." Wendy packed her writing utensils into her bag. She still could only share a worried and tired grin. "You haven't found a place to stay at yet, right? Don't worry, you'll find one soon if not then you can stay at my apartment. That would be even better! Sleep overs, braiding each other's hair..." Wendy shot Sooyoung a weird and at the same time disgusted glance that silenced her. "First of all I'm not from Seoul so finding a place that I can actually pay the rent for is quite hard and secondly I would never move in with you. No offense. But I'm just not into sleepovers." Wendy linked arms with her friend as they walked towards the library. "None taken. But I thought everyone from America loved sleep overs?" Wendy sighed at the word America and abruptly turned to her friend. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm Korean and I only lived in Canada? Canada not the USA. Got it?" She then shot a playful glare at Joy. "You know that I sometimes really hate you?" The tall girl smirked. "I know you love me. Thank you very much." Sooyoung saw a laughing Wendy which satisfied her a lot. She hadn't seen her crack a genuine smile in a long long while. It felt good to know that Wendy was still the same good old friend of her's. Cheerful, incredibly smart, loyal and probably the best cupcake baker in Seoul. The university's library was a grand and elegant place with stacks of books, computers and snack automates everywhere. It was Wendy's favorite get away place as it united everything she loved and enjoyed. They walked over to a project area that included two desks with chairs and a space for the books. Wendy and Sooyoung sat drown and grabbed a laptop each out of their bags. They had an assigned project that was due in a few days. Not passing that assignment with a good grade probably meant failing the whole class. Wendy opened the program she was working on. It was a database for medical records. She never felt safe whenever she had to go to a doctor's appointment and see all of the documents just laying around for everyone to look at and maybe even to open. "I think I'll fail. Programming is just not my thing." Sooyoung sighed as she closed the lid of her laptop. She had to study programming as her parents were famous in that branch. Wendy ignored the hopeless comment her friend uttered. Not long after, she felt someone pulling her sleeve of the purple sweater she wore. "Wendy, let's have some fun. I'm bored." Sooyoung wined. Wendy opened her friend's laptop and logged into her email account and saw multiple emails from different job agencies. Her face lit up. "Here you go, Joy. You don't want to work on your project, right? Then help me find a job out of all these offers. Please?" Sooyoung shot Wendy an evil grin, cracked her knuckles and licked her lips. She concentrated on finding a job that would fit Wendy's requirements and also made her work with other people. Wendy appeared to be very social and extroverted yet she enjoyed her time alone. Sooyoung on the other hand seemed like a cocky and excited person from the outside. In reality the both of them had a lot in common. After an hour or so of silence a loud excited scream erupted the peaceful aura that usually dominated the library. "Holy guacamole!" Sooyoung's eyeswere as big as plates. In the meantime Wendy finished her project and clicked the safe button on the screen. Nothing could scare her that easily. She leaned over to her friend and looked at her with huge expectations. "What? What did you find?" Wendy asked eagerly. Sooyoung turned the screen towards Wendy and pointed at a certain advertisement. It was a job offer. "Laboratory for scientific research including biochemical studies. Looking for a flexible part time employee with excellent technological capabilities and organizing skills. University students preferred. Working hours from 5 pm until 9 pm. Person of contact: Son Hyunwoo." Wendy read the offer carefully. She even read it multiple times. Sooyoung looked at her friend and hoped for praise. "I did well, didn't I? Look, it's the perfect job for you. You're organized, you're amazing at technological stuff and you are only able to work part time after classes end. Oh, and the pay is good too." Wendy glanced at the number which was listed as the wage. "One Million won?! What are they doing there? That's much more than actually I need." she exclaimed thrilled by the thought of having enough money to cover all of the coasts. Sooyoung was now bobbing with her whole body while still sitting on a chair. She picked up Wendy's phone and dialed the phone number that was written on the screen. "Here, call them." She pressed the call button and passed the phone to Wendy. Sooyoung, in a split of a second, packed her laptop into her bag and ran out of the library leaving Wendy behind. Completely overwhelmed and nervous Wendy starred at the area where only moments ago her friend was sitting, until she heard a voice coming from the speaker of her phone. "Hello. This is the staff manager of RV Laboratory. How may I help you?"

Ittook Wendy a few seconds to find the words of a language she hadspoken since she was a of an age that she could actually talk."Hello. My name is Son Wendy. And I heard you offered a job foruniversity students with technological knowledge. I'd like to apply."