ShIInee and Me~

Chapter 1 - A cup of coffee

Waking up to another day, Ali yawns as she stretches her arms and sits upright in her bed, squinting at the sight of sunrays entering her room. Her apartment-studio was small and comfortable, just like her agent had told her it would be. And it brought all of the accommodations she had wanted: a full-sized bed, a desk and chair, a television, some couches, a walk-in closet, a vanity with a mirror... The kitchen brought all of the amenities she required, the bathroom had a wonderful bathtub... The studio had a balcony, where she could sit outside and drink her morning tea while she checked up on her business online.

It was everything and more to her. The best place with the best view in all of south Korea.

And the best thing was: no one knew her.

The small business she ran was established in America, everything was handled electronically. Of course, she left some people in charge of her business while she was away, but most things she could handle over the phone or computer.

Snatching her phone from the bedside table and yawning the last of her sleep, she groaned as she saw all the missed calls from her business. Jeez, can't anyone run a business with ease? She thought to herself annoyingly.

Punching in the number of the office from her work, she walked on over to the kitchen to start making breakfast. It was 8am over in Seoul, but it was 8pm where her business was running.

A frustrated young man answers the phone, "Oh boss, finally! I was so worried something had happened to you."

Ali scratches her hair in frustration but feigns happiness and humor into her voice. "Kyle, chill. Remember the hour differences. I'm totally fine. Now, what's going on? You left me like 15 voice messages."

"Boss, you taught me how to do the numbers, and I did them this morning but...."

"But?"

He seemed hesitant to speak, so he spoke lower and nervously. "They came back lower than you had expected. The numbers are wrong."

Ali took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she knew how Kyle was terrible at running the numbers.

She just laughs and speaks kindly, with every ounce of her patience. "That's alright, Kyle. Just send me everything over e-mail and I'll run them and get back to you tomorrow, okay?"

"But Boss, I should be able to run the numbers better by now! I-I'm so sorry-"

"Shh, it's okay. I'm just gonna have to send my sister over there to teach you again."

"Oh, thank you, Boss!"

Ali switched on her boss attitude and tone. "But this time you'd better write things down, I cannot have you repeating this pattern. I am not there anymore, and I expect my employees to be the best at their jobs. There was a reason why my parents gave you the position, Kyle."

He squealed and spoke rather quickly. "Y-yes, boss! It won't happen again."

"Good," She smiles warmly. "I'll see you guys on Christmas, okay? Love you!" She teases her cousin.

He sounded confident. "Yes, Boss!...." Then he whispers, "Love you too, Ali."

And they hang up.

Miss Ali runs a restaurant that has been in her family for many years. She inherited it when her parents retired. It's not what she wanted, but she's rather good at managing a business.

She'd tried convincing her parents to give it to her younger sister, but they had refused and said that it was tradition for the eldest to assume the business.