BAY YANLIŞ

Episode 1 - Serendipity...

Life isn't about luck. It is not about planning. It is about living day-by-day with logic as the main driving force behind choices that one makes. Although this may not be how some perceive life, Özgür Atasoy saw his life exactly this way. It was not because he was a professional at playing the game of life. It was because he realized very early on that life had consequences. It was not quite about the game of chess where checkmate won the game. No. It was more about recognizing all the pawns in the game, and trusting his logic to figure out the outcome that was the most profitable to him.

The middle of the night vibrated with the energy that only those who thrive in it could recognize. The starry sky yielded its light to the street lamps that illuminated the lively streets of Istanbul. The music blasting out of the speakers from all other cars on the street was easily outmatched by the upbeat sound coming out of one car, one very fast car. Behind the wheel of this car sat a man both confident and content. A man free of commitment and full of stamina. His smile was wide, and his laughter bellowed through Istanbul. The vintage blue Corvette fit him to a "T". Özgür Atasoy sure packed a punch, and he was perfectly aware of it.

To those who knew Özgür, he was a good friend. He was a great boss, albeit demanding but never unfair. He preferred to prevent an issue instead of dealing with the consequences. As the owner of a thriving restaurant-turned-nighttime hotspot for the those young in Istanbul searching for more than the average dance spot, Özgür lived and breathed a life free of any strings that could attach him to any one thing. Especially relationships. He valued women but only offered them what they offered to him. No more, no less.

That night Özgür made his way to his restaurant, and parked his vintage Corvette in a grand gesture worthy of its owner. As he made his way in, he was greeted by the PR coordinator Gizem Sezer, the restaurant's chef Ozan Dincer, its bartender Emre Eren, and half a dozen women ready to pass their phone numbers to him. In fact, they did.

Özgür didn't have to go out of his way to pursue the women. They pursued him. And one fortunate woman got his interest that night. Only that interest lasted about as long as it took for him to realize that the woman he ended up inviting to his home was exactly the kind of woman he tried his best to stay away from. She was ready to make his home hers too. The moment this thought registered in his mind, many different alarms went off in his head. He used as many excuses as it took to make her understand he would not be available to her any time soon. And to him, "forever" would not have been a long enough timeframe to stay away from the clingy kind of a woman she was.

After enjoying his breakfast, lavishly prepared by the very woman he had just sent away, Özgür made his way to his restaurant. As it turned out though, he was short of one very expensive blue vintage Corvette. He had left it by his restaurant. Never one to ponder on a problem for too long, Özgur walked out to the street to hail a taxi. At that very moment, the sky opened and a pouring rain soaked him and his clothes to their last strands of material. But luck was on his side when a taxi pulled up. When he got in, he was oddly surprised to find that the other side of the back seat was already occupied. By a woman. A very beautiful woman. This unexpected turn of events sparked his curiosity. Maybe opportunity had presented itself and he could swoon that woman with his charm? This thought was immediately erased from his mind the moment she opened her mouth. And, boy, did she have a mouthful of negativity to negative things to say.

As he sat there, Özgür could not believe he had gotten into the taxi with the most negative woman in Istanbul. She was rude, outspoken to say the least, and so over-the-top cynical that he did not have to bother disliking her. She did a wonderful job of that herself. To make it even worse, she announced that she had gotten into the taxi car first, that it was hers, and bluntly told him to get out. Ha! As if! Özgür smiled. She was fooling herself if she thought she could order him around. He took orders from no one. He told her he was perfectly fine where he was, and if that bothered her, she was free to leave. That proved too much to the mystery woman, and she asked the taxi driver for help. This backfired because as it turned out, she and her rude companion were both heading to Nişantaşı.