Chapter One: Lana Chaveaux
My daddy told me, "Drinking without getting drunk is a waste of alcohol".
I listened; I always do. That's why I don't drink at business gatherings or while working. Ironically, my daddy's drunken words saved me from being an alcoholic. But not today. It's 4am and I'm in a children's playground, going back and forth on a swing, sipping from a bottle of red wine.
I'm scrolling on Instagram, watching reels and clicking on random profiles. I click on one, Claire Pavons, she was on my soccer team in high school. I see she posted a bikini picture from a beach in Mexico. I scroll further, a post of her and her boy friend in a street market in Hong Kong, A bit further, a dinner party, tagged in Sweden. Claire skipped college and instead chose to travel the world with her childhood sweetheart, James.
I click on another suggested page, Leonardo Casalev. His bio is a bible verses, most of his posts feature his wife and twin babies, he went to university with me, we shared a phycology class, now he's a therapist with a growing family and dream job.
People have choices. Which career to pursue, country to live in, friends, significant others, most things. I chose to become a lawyer with few friends and focus on my career. I don't feel envy towards others because I am the one responsible for my life. Regret is not a feeling, it's a decision.
So yes, I'm getting drunk on a Tuesday morning while stalking my 'friends' and I'm proud to do so.
I'm startled out of my stupor when I hear the swing beside my squeak. A man no older than 30 sits, he's wearing wired earbuds, running shoes, a navy hoodie with black sport shorts. He has badly bleached hair along with deep brown eyes. Unlike me, he's not pulling a lonely all nightery, instead he's a morning person who went out on a run.
We sit in silence. One-minute passes, another two, ten minutes, and he finally speaks.
"So..." he drags out "-you come here often?" I almost chuckle at his awkward tone. I guess he's trying to break the ice. He has a slight accent which tells me he's not originally from around here, I can't exactly place it.
"Yup, it's my usual hang out place for nights like these." "it's morning.". I chuckle at that, "I guess you're right, are you on a morning run?" I ask although I already know the answer to that. "Yes, are you" "no, more like a nighttime hangout" I respond, I sound pathetic, he laughs at this.
"Are hangouts not supposed to be with multiple people?" he asks, I nod my head, smiling "Yes, it's a lonely hangout.".
"I'm Jang Sun-oh" "Nice to meet you Jang, my name is Lana Chaveaux" I introduce back, he bursts out laughing, I tilt my head curiously, "Did I say something funny?" I question. "No, no!" he reassures, although he continues laughing after glancing at my expression.
"My name is Sun-oh Jang, I am still not used to the name system in France, in South Korea it's family name and then first name." I hum with understanding at his explanation, I guess I'm a bit slow at this time of night. Morning?. Now I know where the accent is from. "Your name is pretty" I say, his face slightly flushes at the compliment, he thanks me.
It's back to the silence, more awkward than before, I put my air pods in and listen to music while checking my schedule for the day. I'm not sure if I should bid the stranger goodbye so I just quietly mutter a quick "bye" before jogging away to my apartment close to the park. I don't hear him respond but I feel his eyes on me as I retreat.
I unlock my penthouse apartment and walk in to be greeted by my cat, Beaux. A cute Scottish straight girl with gray fur, large black eyes, named handsome. I walk to my kitchen, placing the bottle down and give some food to the chubby cat. She purrs while eating.
I grab my laptop and sit near the large window in my living room, I begin working on finalizing my argument for a court hearing I must attend in under 3 hours. Beaux comes and sits beside me, I pet her before I continue typing, with her now napping beside me.
I spend the next two and a half hours working and memorizing the information on the document before I leave my apartment to drive to the courthouse. It's a 20-minute ride filled with English and French music. I arrive and meet with my clients to discuss the case before making our way to the room.
Everyone takes their seats, Ms. Frenches, a chubby woman with short ginger hair, fair skin, and a white pantsuit my client, sits on my left. The judge walks in and the lawsuit starts.
Ms. Frenches is a CEO of a company which sells ideas to coming to other businesses, like how songwriters sell their songs to record companies who in turn assign it to a singer under their contract, her company comes up with creative ideas to help a business. The opposition is a corporation which used her idea but refused to give her company, Idea Investment co., credit or money since the contract was verbal and not on paper yet.
The judge asks me to stand and present my clients case and I do.
"Your honour, I am here today on the behalf of Idea Investment corporation due to the immorality and failure to comply with the verbal agreement between my client and Happy Cleaning Corporation." I introduced my case to the familiar elderly man and the full audience in court. As I mentioned, I'm a lawyer, but did I mention that I'm one of the best in the country? At the age of 26, I already have multiple interns who follow me closely to observe me, as well as fans who find my cases as interesting as the American show Suits.
"If you allow me, I would like to present the transcripts of the zoom meetings between the two main parties," the judge nods her head and I hand the documents to the officer sitting near her, he presents it to her.
"As you can see on page 4, time stamp 16:24, Brian Waldolf states 'Your advertising idea was checked over by some of our media advisors and we decided to go forth with it, thank you, we will compensate you with the agreed amount', This means that Happy Cleaning went forward with Ideas Investment hard work and agreed to pay my clients the agreed, 3.89 million dollars, however there has not been any news from them for 7 months, ignoring emails as well as direct meetings-"
And so the court went on for 3 hours before I won the case, making 2.6 million dollars for my company, my commission for it being 20%.
This is a day in the life on Milana Chaveaux, the 26-year-old Genius Lawyer.
Chapter 2: Are you stalking me?
"Are you stalking me?" I asked with a jokingly tone to Sun-oh, once again at the same spot as approximately a week ago.
The poor guy looked extremely flustered by my unserious question, flailing his arms again while violently shaking his head. "No, no, no, of course not! I was jogging and I noticed you so I thought, 'why not talk to her' please forgive me!" he bowed at a 160 angle, stressing me out yet also making me smile, such a cutie.
"I'm just joking, no need to apologise" I laugh after a pregnant pause of him just looking at me. This time, he's wearing a beige pull over sweater with some black joggers. On the other hand, I'm in a brown hoodie, grey flared jeans, a pink jacket and a grey Chanel scarf. It's a chilly November morning so our outfits match the atmosphere pretty well.
Sun-oh settles down in the swing next to me and scrolls through TikTok. I'm not sure what to say, I stay silent.
I think of my big sister, she was good at conversation starters even with her bratty personality she managed to attract those around her, I remembered when I asked about her social skills she told me "Ugh of course my dumb little sister doesn't even know how to talk to people, I don't know, just give them a nickname? Or something, don't ask me, I'm just a natural."
"Sunny" I said out loud without thinking much, he turned to me slightly confused, "My name's Sun-oh, not Sunny? I'm kind of hurt that you forgot Lana" I blushed in embarrassment at my stupid blunder.
"Ahhh I'm so sorry! I promise I didn't forget, Sunny just slipped out, it's a nickname" I awkwardly chuckled, he looked curious, perhaps at my sudden burst of energy, maybe at the part about the nickname?
"A nickname?" he tilted his head, confirming my thoughts, "Aha" I nod aggressively. He suddenly beams. "Woah! That's so cool! I've never had one, can I give you a nickname too, please, please, please!" He glowed with a smile and his blond grown out buzzcut just made him look like a golden retriever, He looked like a cute puppy, "Lana is a nickname, my full name is Milana."
He suddenly looks sad, like Beaux when I accidentally step on her tail. In fact, it's almost comical, scratch that, it is completely comical.
"Well, that's no good! I want it to be special!" he drags out his sentence, I laugh at him while he pouts. "You can give me a nickname if you want, though it might be difficult" I keep chuckling. This man sure is a character. Despite the awkwardness which follows our conversations, he never fails to start again, it's admirable.
Sun-oh, Sunny, thinks for a few minutes. His legs swinging on the swing, one hand wrapped around the metal chain, the other rapidly tapping on his thigh.
"Hmm well Sunny in English is sunlight so I guess since I'm the Sun, you can be the moon!" He says in a thoughtful tone and thinks bit longer, "Luna?" he comes up, it sounds quite a bit cliché, something a cartoon character would be named but how could I say that to Sun-oh's hopeful, full of light face? So, I just nod and smile, after all, Sunny isn't much better.
Twenty minutes pass and I yawn, my phone says its 5:17 AM. I need coffee, or sugar, so I stand up, stretching my arms and back, I turn to Sun-oh, he's already looking at me. Something tells me to stay, I even consider asking him to accompany me but in the end I just depart. "I'm going now, I'll see you around, bye Sunny." I smile at him.
"Bye Luna, see you around." He beams, returning my smile, I walk away, pressing shuffle on my playlist.
After a twenty-minute walk, I enter a local coffee shop and order a double shot expresso. I find a table to sit at and pull out my laptop from my bag and answer my emails. My boss forwarded a case to me. It is unusual to me as it has to do with foreign athlete transfers which I usually do not cover.
Good morning, Ms. Cheryl,
It has come to my attention that the case you sent me is not covered by my area of expertise, are you sure that you want me to be the one to work on it? I believe that it would be best to transfer it to someone more suitable such as Mr. Henry. Please think this over.
Regards,
Milana Chaveaux
I emailed the Sr Partner regarding my worries. In truth, I am sure that I would do well with this case, however, I simply find these cases boring, I refresh my inbox to see a reply.
Hello, Ms. Chaveaux
I did consider what you said but this case is somewhat of a test to consider your promotion from Jr Partner to Sr Partner, we'd like for you to build international relationships as well as expand your horizons out of the comfort zone, please consider this case as the ramp you need for your career.
Regards,
Amelia Cheryl
By now, my coffee is ready, so I close my laptop and instead open Instagram. Sipping on the caffeine and wasting time on fake news, celebrity gossip, and comedy videos. I do this for another fifteen minutes before leaving to walk home. I feed Beaux, shower, take a nap before waking up at 10AM getting ready to work a 12-8 shift.
I get into my car and ironically listen to a Lana Del Rey playlist while driving to a day at work, ready to start my journey to Senior Partner position in the largest law firm in France.
Jang Sun-Oh. I find him strange. He contradicts his own personality all the time. He's persistent, but not forceful, full of energy, yet stays calm, he makes me wonder about what choices made him end up where he is now, who he is now. To me, the man is a mystery, a surprise box full of random items, ranging from gold to stuffed animals. So I keep driving with my mind overflowing with thoughts of the strange man who randomly popped into my life seemingly to plague my brain.
Chapter 3: Can I have your number?
I finished my work around 8:15 and drove straight home to change, it snowed today so I dress accordantly to the weather, brown cargo pants, a beige pull over and of course my favourite pink puffer jacket. In addition, I fed Beaux before dressing her in a navy sweater. I put on her collar and leave my penthouse with the kitten safe in my backpack, her head sticking out and curiously looking around.
I'm halfway through my walk to my local coffee shop when I feel a chill around my neck, realizing that I forgot my scarf, I continue walking, the security guard would make fun of me if I walked back into the building with a walk of shame.
After seven more minutes of the freezing commute, I make my way inside of the pet friendly café and sit in an empty booth, making sure its clean before letting Beaux out to lay on the table. A waitress comes by to take my order and I buy a Capuchino along with a cherry jam cheesecake.
I pull my laptop out and begin looking over the case file to see the information on my client's case. I met the players manager, Mr. Lee today at work and we discussed some financial deals based on his explanation of skill and my professional opinion, we agreed on some numbers, yet we still have much to discuss so we planned a zoom meeting for next Tuesday which will include this footballer.
KEY INFORMATION
§ South Korean soccer/football player being transferred to the French Football Association.
§ Signing bonus being discussed is 29.6 million EUD.
§ Annual salary not agreed on yet but estimated to be around 6.7 million.
PERSONAL NOTES
§ The 'B Party', the FFA will most likely attempt to get the signing bonus below 15 million EUD.
§ The salary can be raised up to 11.2 million EUD if played correctly.
I was about to type my next point when I heard a familiar voice calling my name.
"Luna! Hello!" He sat down in the seat across from mine, Beaux wakes up to check out the new stranger before closing her eyes and curling back into her nap.
"Sun-oh, how are you?" I smiled at him, trying to match his energy. He was about to respond before the now familiar waitress comes back with my order, I thank her.
"Hello sir, what would you like to order?" she smiles at the man enthusiastically with a red hue to her cheeks, I smile at Sunny's popularity, pretty privilege, ey?
I dig into my dessert before noticing that Sun-oh has a companion with him.
"Sunny, you have a dog?" I gasp in surprise; I didn't expect it because he never brought a dog to a jog with him which is usually the case for dog parents.
"Yeah, he's a good boy, a golden retriever, his name is Ha-Neul! You have a kitten, how cute."
"I don't mean to be mean but is Ha-Neul a more feminine name? and yeah, this is Beaux!" I pet Scottish fold, he snorts, "Beaux as in handsome? I guess we both decided to name our babies in misleading names." He speaks while contagiously laughing, I can't help but join, "You know what they say, great mind thinks alike.". laughter fates into chuckles which morphs into a comfortable silence.
Its not broken until the same waitress brings Sunny's order which just happens to be the same as mine.
He smiles before mirroring my words "You know what they say, great minds think alike." We laugh again, a common, recurring pattern for our duo.
"Hey Luna, would it be okey for me to have your number, we keep running into each other and I think we're friends, at least I hope we are, are we?" The man rumbles nervously with a slight blush tinting his face, though I'm not sure if I can judge him for that as I'm confident that I'm just as flustered as Sun-oh is, if not more.
I nod my head, "Yeah of course let me write it down for you." I rapidly searched for a pen inside of my bag before frantically searching for a paper, unable to find one, I use a napkin to write my digits on it. "And Sunny..." I pause, "of course we are friends" I say quietly while blushing slightly.
Jang Sun-Oh beams "I'm glad! You're the first friend I made in France." My eyes go wide at his statement, "Than I shall take it as my honour Sir Jang!" I smile, so genuine, so real, I feel my cheeks hurt from the grin, yet I don't care, I'm happy with the choices I made so far, Afterall, my Mama did tell me "God already wrote out your entire life, and each decision you made, leads you to the final day of judgement, so never be sad at your poor choices, instead celebrate the good ones"
I took her words to heart, I live by them to this day engraved in my memory.
We both finish our food and drinks in silence before we decide that it is time to depart. Sun-oh and I leave the café at the same time, along with our respective pets.
A cold breeze passes by, and I shiver, the man beside me notices and frowns. "Aish! What's with your clothing! It's freezing Luna! You should've worn a hat, scarf, and mittens if you plan to walk!" He complains at the same time taking off his own beige scarf. I slightly tilt my head at him. "I'm fine, cold doesn't bother me all that much anyways!" I smile at him, he's still frowning before we wraps his scarf around my neck and pulls my jacket over my head.
Sunny smiles and it lights up the already dark street, "Done! Now you'll stay warm and avoid being sick" I blush at this, my mouths a gape, eyes wide with awe. I just stare at him before I decide to be bold for what seems to be a first in my life.
I wrap my arms around Sun-oh's torso with a big smile on my face. His arms naturally wraparound my neck and head, I look up at him, "Thank you Sunny!" I beam with happiness in my voice, this is a start of my small crush on the handsome stranger who I met in a part at 4 AM on a random Tuesday.
3333 words.
Hello everyone, it's angel, I decided to edit this story and restart with it, the plot, characters, and settings will stay the same however the writing style will change and now the chapters will me over 1000 words. I do plan to edit even further ones I am done publishing, just to make it a longer read. In addition, I will be publishing about 3-5 chapters into one because I tend to work offline and fear that some chapters may not save. I will call these "volumes" and there will be a title before every new part. Sorry for not publishing for awhile!