---

Gabriella laid her body down on the bed hard. The white ceiling of the room was dark without any lights on. It was late, but the young woman had been feeling sleepy since dusk. She even asked Wendy to take her home, before she could tell her the many things that made her feel uneasy.


The woman closed her eyes. The moment that happened for seven days in a row, made her frown again. Gabriella remembered the time when her interview report with an interviewee, who was one of the candidates for mayor, was flatly rejected by her boss. The paper containing the long sentences she had painstakingly crafted was returned by Wira - the editor-in-chief - without a reason.

Gabriella wanted so badly to take all her frustrations out on Wira. But that kind of thing had happened many times in the past few months. At first, Gabriella still felt normal, thinking that maybe this was her shortcoming or that she just needed to learn a little more to keep up with Wira's wishes. But the longer it went on, the more unreasonable the orders from the man with the shaved head became.

Small mistakes were raised, zero mistakes were deliberately created. What exactly was wrong?


It was not only Wira who made her rub her chest, but her colleagues in the office also began to consider her as the main enemy. Wendy is the only one still loyal and survives as his closest friend.

Drrrt!!!


Drrt!!!

A message notification that appeared on the cell phone made Gabriella open her eyes. Although her hands moved lazily, the woman was refusing to wait any longer. She checked the contents of the message to satisfy her curiosity. But all she got was her father's usual lament.

The old man was no help at all.

Despite having left Gabriella for a new wife, the old man was still shameless. Money and money only!

Exhausting work, a troublesome family, not to mention friends who considered her a rival. I don't know when Gabriella's good life suddenly became as miserable as it is now. So the idea of jumping off the Mall became the only option.

She turned on the switch and checked her cell phone again. In addition to the message from her father, there was in fact one unread message from Wira.

Wira: why are you skipping work today? Wendy said you were sick, how come you don't have a sick note?

Gabriella snorted, then cursed at her own phone screen. "Ewh. God forbid this old fart! You should be the one jumping off the mall, not me! What a bummer, you bastard!"

And to calm her overflowing emotions, Gabriella chose to toss her cell phone onto the mattress without warning. Maybe if she jumped up and died, Wira would be the first one to be happy. You see, even though Wendy had given her permission to be sick, Wira still said words that made her heart ache.

---

"Boss, everything is done. May I have permission to go home first?"

Ken looked up, seeing his last employee who was ready to leave. The black and white uniform that the man had given to all the employees at Selera Chinese Food, had been replaced with a slightly wrinkled gray polo shirt. "Oh, I see. Okay, okay. Go ahead."

"Boss... still want to be here?"

Hearing his employee named Andri make small talk, Ken could immediately guess that the other person felt bad about having to leave him alone. So what Ken did next was to smile a little while lowering his gaze from the ipad screen in his hand. "Yes. If you want to go back first, it's okay. I want to cross check again what food ingredients have run out in the kitchen."

But Andri furrowed his brow in surprise. "Didn't you double-check with Chef Arnold, boss?"

Ken was silent for a moment. Before saying, "Yes, I can't check my own chef's work?"

"Hehehe, that's strange, boss." The man in his twenties scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly. "Well then, you'll have to excuse me."

"Okay."

Shortly after the departure of Andri, the barista who was scheduled to clean up tonight, the memory of the incident that happened last night and this afternoon came back.

Gabriella.

The woman who suddenly felt special in Ken's eyes.

He pondered for a moment before putting the iPad down on the table, then pulled out his cell phone from his pants pocket. The name Wendy, a school friend who was quite familiar with him, then appeared on the screen which was quite dazzling. Without thinking, Ken pressed the call icon and called Wendy.

It took a few seconds before the voice on the other side greeted him. "Hello?"

"Wen?"

"Yes. What's up, Ken?"

Ken bit his lower lip, a bit hesitant actually. He had never done this before; finding out about a woman through other people.

But now, Ken was out of his comfort zone.

"Who did you go to my restaurant with?"

"Huh? What does that mean?"

The man chuckled softly. Wendy was being insensitive, making things difficult. She mumbled for a moment, before continuing her words. "That is... that afternoon that-"

"OOHHHH!" Suddenly Wendy interrupted and made Ken flinch instantly. "The one you were fighting about earlier, huh?"

"The dog only remembers that part," said Ken.

Wendy laughed. "Hahahaha, but it's true, isn't it?"

Ken chose to remain silent to bury the commotion that Wendy remembered deeply. If you think about it, Ken does regret it a little, why should he accuse Gabriella of stalking him when he didn't do anything? It was strange, but maybe that was why Ken contacted Wendy. Or...

since Wendy reminded him of it, Ken could actually use it as a good excuse. "Yes, that's right. That's why I want to apologize to her. I think I was out of line earlier."

"You just realized?"

"Dih. How annoying."

Wendy mumbled for a while before her casual tone turned low. "Do you want to apologize to her, or...?"

"Or what?" said Ken curiously.

"There is something. Just curious, you."

Ken pushed the phone away from his ear, then silently cursed. Before smiling again and continuing, "Wendy is pretty, actually-"

"Yes, I know I'm pretty," Wendy cut in.

Which only made Ken even more upset in his place. He cleared his throat and decided to get to the point before his blood pressure rose. "I want to ask for Gabriella's number."

"Hahahaha, that's how it's been. Use all the small talk."

Ken felt strange and wrinkled his forehead deeply. "How come you're so casual? Do you want to give me her number?"

"Why not? Besides, she needs someone to heal her broken feelings."

"What's wrong with her? Is there a problem?"

"Instead of being curious, let's chat by ourselves. I sent her number just now, check it first!"

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