Masquerade // Jeon Jungkook

CHAPTER 1

The egg yolk sun poured through the small opening of the curtain and awaited entrance into Tae Hee's eyes. Waking up is not a pleasure for her when her dreams are better than her reality. Waking up is like a constant reminder that her life is nothing but a struggle to make ends meet. She's like a zombie who's dead inside but still walking and waiting for the day to pass and hoping it didn't get worse than yesterday.

Tae Hee rubbed the remainders of the sleep from her eyes and stared at her ceiling as if it can make her mood better. Slowly and reluctantly, she sat up and dragged her feet off the bed. Tae Hee stretched her arms above her head and yawned. She blinked her eyes when her phone rang.

"Hello," she lazily answered the call.

"I'm outside! Open the door!"

Tae Hee looked at her screen to check the caller ID. It was her friend, Jihyo. At the same time, she could hear someone was banging on her apartment door.

Tae Hee groaned. "I'm coming. Stop banging on the door. You'll wake up my neighbour." Tae Hee shuffled towards the door and opened it, revealing her friend's cheerful face. She rolled her eyes and let her in.

"Didn't you say you have an interview today?" Jihyo asked as she walked straight towards Tae Hee's bedroom.

"Yeah. At 2 pm." Tae Hee checked the time on her phone. "I still got some time to get ready." She followed her friends from behind. This will be her 6th interview after she failed the previous interviews. She lost her old job since the company went bankrupt and they couldn't even compensate their worker. Tae Hee had been jobless for almost two months now. Being jobless at the age of 25 hits her hard.

Tae Hee was barely able to pay her rent and utilities by using the money she had saved. She'd been eating instant noodles since the remaining money was used to pay her debt that she owed from a loan shark. Her small salary left her with no choice since her mother's hospital bill is too expensive.

"I have a hunch that you will make it through this time," Jihyo said as she took out a white shirt and a set of dark blue coloured blazer from a paper bag. "Wear this. Yours are too old. You should impress the recruiter."

"You didn't have to do this. My old blazer is still good to wear."

"Oh, no honey. You need to listen to me this time. Just wear this okay. I can't fit them anymore so you can have them," Jihyo lied. She knew her friend wouldn't accept it if she tells her she bought her a new set.

"Fine," Tae Hee surrendered. She sat on the bed beside her friend. "Do you think I can make it this time?"

"Of course! Didn't you say the recruiter personally invite you to the interview?"

Tae Hee scratched the back of her neck. "Yeah. I felt weird actually because why would he want to hire someone like me? I thought he's a scammer but I searched about the company and it is a huge company."

"What do you mean by someone like me? You're pretty and smart! I'm sure he can see and that's why he's inviting you to join the interview. You're lucky!" Jihyo side hugged Tae Hee and smiled widely. They had been friends since university. Jihyo knew about her struggles and she helps her sometimes but Tae Hee didn't like to be indebted to someone. Jihyo is not rich but her family is well enough to support her and her little sister.

"Maybe you'll be able to pay all the debt you owe from the loan shark," Jihyo smiled meekly. She was angry when she found out her friend owed money from a loan shark but after a while she came to understands that Tae Hee was desperate at that time and she doesn't want to burden Jihyo with her problem.