The Prank

It started in a bar

It was finally the end of term. Now before Becca could muster the courage to phone home to announce that she'd be coming back home she wanted to cheer herself up. She was in a bar, in her slinkiest dress chatting with the bartender generally being happy.

The door opened and an older gentleman in a business suit came in and sat right next to her and gave the bartender a card to keep the liquor coming.

The bartender, Becca had been calling him Joon, took the man's card and addressed him formally. It was obvious that he respected this individual.

"And who are you my beauty?" The man had turned to face Becca. He leered at her, his eyes never meeting hers.

"I'm not a prostitute if that's what you mean." Becca pulled the dress up to make it more modest and settled her tab getting ready to leave before she felt a hand on her arm.

It was Joon. He apologized for the other guest's rudeness. "Please stay. My friend didn't think. He's had a lot on his mind recently. He just wanted to try to get his thoughts in order by talking to you."

Becca took the blazer that was offered and put it on climbing back onto her barstool. She looked at the man across from her, "hello I'm sorry for making such a fuss it's just natural for me to react like that whenever some guy stares at my chest. My name is Rebecca Tomas and until recently I was an English instructor at a private high school." Becca had to stop herself; she didn't know why she was volunteering all this information to some perverse guy but it felt good to unload and before she knew it the words were flowing again. "I really don't want to leave here because it feels like the first place where I could be myself." She physically covered her mouth so she didn't tell him her social security number or email passwords. She waited a moment before she spoke again, " I'm sorry that was oversharing. What's your name and what is on your mind to make your thoughts cluttered?"

The man smiled warmly as he replied, " my name is Tae Song and I manage music artists and they and their fans stress me out. I've been thinking about adding an English instructor to my staff to make overseas promoting easier and increase international interest in the brand." He paused to take a deep pull from his drink, "As to your last question I'm trying to deal with the impending military service of two of my artists." He picked up on her confused expression, because he managed to look her in the eyes, and frowned, "What do you know about South Korean conscription laws?"

Becca,who had been confused only because she wasn't sure there was much to 'do' about conscription as it was something that was required, reassured TaeSong about her knowledge on the topic, " I know about conscription laws. I was just confused about what could be done about it if its mandatory." She had heard about all the media coverage that surrounded the famous conscripted each year from one of the other instructors in the program. She thought that it was silly when there were so many other things to be covered.

TaeSong nodded, smiling, "yes it's mandatory but these two are part of a group of six. The other four want to go into service with them. I have to figure out how to deal with this. Any suggestions would be appreciated if you have a fresh perspective." He sneakily put his phone recording feature on before placing his phone on the bar and looking hopefully at Becca.

"Okay but if I do this for you then you have to let me interview for the English instructor position at your agency."

The older man hated to ingratiate himself to anyone but said, "If you help me then you can have the position."

Becca still didn't understand the specific problem this guy was grappling with so she just started talking, "let's think about who the military really wants in the service. I had once hoped to become a citizen of this country because it has done a lot for me. I would have enjoyed serving. I was unhappy to learn that women are only allowed to enlist in the reserve forces and the same thing is true for naturalized male citizens because the drill instructors wouldn't be as at ease teaching individuals who look western and may have an issue with understanding the language. Also they want healthy recruits. Who would choose a person who may get sick and become vulnerable in the middle of an operation? Anyone with a preexisting condition is unable to serve and thus exempt from conscription." She paused to make sure her companion was following her train of thought. "But there are specific qualifications of a preexisting condition or there would be people faking things to get out of service all over the place. A few years ago it was as easy as obtaining a dual citizenship to get out of service but if you tried that now you'd be labeled as a draft dodger and that would have negative publicity that would get back to the company."

TaeSong smiled and slid his phone back off the bar and into his pocket, "You're hired." He scrawled some information down on a napkin and handed it to her. "Keep the blazer; you look better in it than I ever did."

Hey guys! So Becca is working with TS. You can expect there to be more kpop in this story from now on.

Also I'm at a loss for what kind of dress Becca was wearing during this chapter. If you have an idea then please tell me in the comments below.