CONTRACT POSITION

{3} Settling in

Doha drove Teresa to the apartment the company was providing for her. It would be in the same building Stray Kids lived in, for accessibility, due to their unpredictable schedules. It was large, with an office space where she could teach. 

"Here you are, Ms. Figueroa. I hope it is to your liking" Doha says, opening the door. 
"Oh. I'm sure I'll like- Oh my god! This is huge!" 

"We go all out for our staff at JYPE. You are very important to us, so your space should communicate that."

Teresa smiled and bowed in gratitude. She was speechless. 

It was a beautiful space with a large window overlooking Seoul in the living room, so the view was the first thing one noticed upon entering the apartment. To the left of the hallway, she found the kitchen. It was spacious for an apartment, with bar stools where one could sit and eat. 

To the left of the kitchen was the office. It was large and fully furnished already with anything she could need to teach, including a smart dry-erase board and projector. It had several books, and plenty of supplies, as well as a sofa-bed. Teresa was confused.

"Sometimes the kids might need to rest before a lesson, so that was prepared for them."

"Understood. Thank you." She nodded.

"Please let us know if anything here does not work for you and what else you'd need. Do not hesitate to ask."

"Thank you. This is already amazing!"

The living room had a beautiful black leather sofa, and a teardrop light fixture that matched the silver and glass coffee table. The TV was framed inside a cabinet that would hide it when not in use, and had plenty of storage for other entertainment devices.

When they entered the master bedroom, across from the office, she gasped in amazement. It was furnished with a king size bed and decorated like a tropical paradise. It was as if they knew she'd be coming. The glass window from the living room extended to her room, so the view was also spectacular.

Besides the guest bathroom that had a small shower, her master bathroom had a large two-person shower, with seating, and a hot tub. There was a beautiful vanity with two sinks, a large lighted  mirror, and his and hers toilets and bidets, with privacy doors. To the right of the vanity, there was a door that hid a large walk-in closet with everything needed for storage. 

"Wow. All I need from my apartment is my clothes. I'll put mine up for rent, just in case, but Wow! How blessed are you, Teresa?" She thought to herself. 

"This is amazing, Mr. Doha. Please relay my gratitude to the JYPE Division one staff for doing this. " 

"Of course, ma'am. We-" 
"Oh no," she interrupted. "Do not ma'am me. Call me Teresa, please." 

"Okay, Teresa, but only if you call me Doha." 

"Deal! When can I move in?"

"Here is your key and address card. You can move in when you wish." 

"Okay. I'll go pack my things and spend the night here today, since I'm teaching Mr. Bahng later tonight." 

"Sounds good. Here is the number of our moving company in case you need help bringing anything. Would you like me to take you to your place?" 

"Yes please. I'd like to be back here as soon as possible to get ready and prepare my lesson for tonight." She smiled brightly. "Could you please tell Mr. Bahng that I will meet him for lunch in an hour and a half?"

"Absolutely. I will. Let's get going, then."

"Thank you for driving me, Doha. I'll take a taxi back to the apartment later on. I'm going to take a while, so don't worry about me."

"Yes, ma'a- I mean, Teresa."

"See you later!" 

She exited the vehicle and waved goodbye to Doha, who waved back. 

As soon as she disappeared from his sight, he left to meet up with his love at a nearby restaurant. He loved his wife very much and was thankful for this time to be spending with her. 

Back at her apartment,  Teresa worked diligently to pack her essentials into her two pieces of luggage. She hadn't been in Korea long, so she hadn't amassed too many extra things, but she'd need help from movers in a few days to move several heavy boxes full of books and memories from back home. She looked at the picture of her late husband. 

"Joseph, if you could see me now. I finally made it to Korea. You're supposed to be here with me, though. She picked up the picture and sat on her sofa, crying. "I miss you so much, but I promise to make you proud and be happy, so you can be at peace."

She wiped up her tears, placed the picture in her purse, and began packing her clothes, shoes, and personal care items.