NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1: Her Bully
There was only one man who had made Kira's life miserable since the moment she moved to Korea with her parents. Back then she was only 8 years old and had to adapt to her new home, she had left her friends behind just because her father got a better job in South Korea. She was promised a better life, instead, all she faced was hell
Dae was the handsome and popular boy in her school who every girl had a crush on. He had the looks and the style, plus his parents were celebrities. His mom was a famous Model and his father was a producer, he was already living the celebrity life from a very young age. Dae was the kind of person who was to be admired from afar and never be approached at all costs. Kira used to look up to him a lot, even when she knew that his attitude was nasty, she still had a big crush on him.
But her crush had made it his duty to torture her. He made fun of her hair and her darker skin tone and called her weird for looking different, and since he was the star kid who everyone looked up to, the rest of the kids went along with his taunts as well and Kira became the most miserable kid in her school. The crush she had on Dae turned to hatred, and after many years of persistent bullying, she swore that one day she would make him pay for all the suffering he had put her through. If she ever got the opportunity to have more control over him, then she would make his life miserable as well.
Thirteen years later, she was working as an assistant to Dae's manager. And her life was even more miserable than before. Her only job was to make coffee, that was all she was hired for. It shouldn't have been that hard right? It was just coffee. But this simple task became the bane of Kira's existence. She has no idea how much time she spends trying to perfect one cup of coffee each morning. She makes it as perfect as she can. And all she ever gets is scolding from her boss's boss.
" Are you so useless that you can't do this simple task? " Dae doesn't even taste the coffee. His dark eyes stared at Kira like he could see her very soul. Kira can't bring herself to say anything but watch the Devil helplessly, chanting a thousand curses in her heart at him. His attitude made her forget how incredibly good-looking he was. His soft black hair fell above his forehead, the length was just above his eyebrow which gave him a soft yet aloof temperament. His phoenix eyes were narrowed slightly and his lips were pulled in a straight line. His skin was very pale and looked incredibly soft. Well, he wasn't voted the most handsome guy in the country for nothing. " If you can't make coffee, then what can you do? "
" I am sorry "
" That's all you ever are " Dae gives her an irritated look. Someone calls for him, one of his dance coaches, before he leaves he spills the contents of his mug all over her. Kira wasn't even surprised anymore, because this wasn't the first time she had coffee soaking through her clothes. Everyone else in the studio was already used to seeing this as well so nobody even looked at her anymore.
Kira picks up the discarded mug and leaves the studio. She makes her way towards the bathroom to clean up. She looked at herself in the mirror, she had worked so hard to fix her hair earlier that day, and now it looked like a bird nest. She picks up some tissues and tries to wipe herself clean, it doesn't do much to help her.
" That fucking bastard ". Kira scratched at the poster of Dae-Soon which hung on the wall beside her, if she had a pen with her then she would have scribbled nonsense on his face, and she would draw horns on his head, that would make him look like the devil he was. Honestly, she had never done anything to offend this guy, what could she have possibly done to warrant the years of abuse?
To think she had been so sure that when she grew up she would have a good job to support herself, she would be independent and no one would ever look down at her. But here she was, getting bullied by the most famous Idol in the world. And she couldn't do anything about it but shed tears of sorrow. The worst thing was no one would ever believe her if she told them what kind of person Dae was, to the public he was the charismatic and kind-hearted guy who was the definition of perfection. And Kira was just a poor employee who didn't get paid enough for all the bullshit she had to endure.
* * *
" Caterpillar "
" Yes? " Kira rushes towards Dae when she hears him call her. Caterpillar was the nickname he had given her since they were kids, he said it was because he thought her ugly and he hoped for her sake that she might become prettier with time. But since in his eyes, Kira was still unattractive, she was still a caterpillar and not a butterfly. The hatred she had for this guy couldn't be measured by the ocean! But this job paid well and it's not like she had a lot of other options since she didn't finish college. Dae didn't finish college either, but here he was, bossing her around like she had sold off her soul to him!
" Where is your boss? "
" Uh, I think he went to get the car "
" Caterpillar"
" Y..yes? "
Dae stares at her for a long time, a smile makes it's way across his handsome face. " Do you know, if it wasn't for me then you wouldn't have this job? "
" Yes sir " How could she possibly forget, he made sure to remind her every single day of her life. She knew what he expected her to say as well. " And I am very grateful "
" Of course, now you can leave. Go sleep or something, you look at the brink of collapsing "
Kira thanked him before walking away. She went to take her bag and then she retired home for the day. She lived in a small apartment that was just cheap enough in rent to be comfortable. She took a shower and then made some food to eat. The sky outside was dark and cloudy, soon it started to rain. Kira curled up on her sofa to watch some TV, she was more than annoyed when she saw that most of the channels were only displaying her boss, either his new music, a commercial he made, or a movie he starred in. Everywhere she went, Dae's presence always hunted her. He was so popular that it could be said that the whole of Korea kissed his feet. Kira hoped that one day she would have enough money to get out of this country and escape her torturous bully.
She lay on the couch and felt exhaustion sink into her bones. She was almost asleep when her phone rang, she nearly had a heart attack when she saw the caller's ID. God, why was the Devil calling her now? Despite her reluctance, she had no choice but to pick up the call. " Hello? "
" Caterpillar" Dae's cheerful voice sounded from the other end of the call. Kira just knew that he had an evil smile on his face right that moment. " I was just about to sleep, but I remembered something important "
" What is it? " Kira snapped, she soon realized her mistake " I...I mean what can I help you with?"
If he noticed her anger, he didn't comment on it. " The flower pot I gave you. You remember the plant I asked you to groom right? "
" Yes "
" Where is it? "
" Outside "
" Good, I want you to go and water it"
" What? "
" Do I have to repeat myself twice? Water. The. Damn. Plant, Caterpillar"
" But it's raining outside "
" Do as I tell you, and report back to me tomorrow. If you refuse to do it, you'll get struck by lightning, and possibly get fired" His laughter was the last thing she heard before he cut the call. Kira stared at her phone for a long time and wondered what crime she had committed to end up having this maniac in her life. She laid back on the couch with no intention of doing what he said, how the fuck would he know if she obeyed him or not?
But then Kira thought of that dreadful plant Dae had given her as a birthday present last year. She felt all the anger and frustration from earlier that day come back to her, he had embarrassed her a lot so why would she keep taking care of his plant? She got up from the couch and marched outside to the balcony. She shivered as the rain fell heavily on her. Kira picked up the small flower pot and tossed it down the balcony. She was satisfied when she heard the sound of it shattering as it met the ground.
" There! I broke your fucking vase! I wish I could have broken your face instead! " Kira yelled, knowing that no one would hear her over the sound of the rain. " I hate you Dae-Soon! I'll pay you back someday! "
The moment she finished saying that, a loud sound echoed and she felt pain soar all over her body. Only when she felt herself losing consciousness did she realize that she had just gotten struck by lightning. Damn that fucking Dae!