Seira adjusts her glasses again. She wraps Olive to move away from the grave while whispering to pay attention to her steps. She doesn't want Olive to slip, even though the cemetery area is dry. There's nothing to worry about, but still, Seira doesn't want to take any risks.
Before she truly leaves the grave of the woman who was once part of her life, Seira says, "I forgive you. Forgive me for not being the prideful daughter-in-law like Marissa, okay? I could only work at home and spend Tedy's money. Yes. That's just how Seira is. May you rest in peace."
Olive can't stop staring at the large bowl of beef soup with broth. It contains carrot slices and sprinkles of fried onions and fresh slices of scallions. Olive inhales the aroma emanating from her ordered bowl several times.
"It's still hot, Bee," Thomas warns.
"Yeah, Sweetie." Olive grins satisfactorily. "The aroma is so delicious."
"This beef soup place is Papa's favorite, Olive," Robert says wi
Before reading this story, as the author, I want to inform you that the setting of the story is in Indonesia. Thank you.***A man in a neatly pressed long-sleeved shirt with a well-tied tie, slicked-back hair, thin-framed square glasses, perfectly ironed black cotton pants, and shiny dress shoes wrapped his tall and well-built frame. He made sure to showcase his sharp appearance every day; it was a must for every employee in the Senayan branch.Polite and neat.For him, a polished appearance was not only polite but also had added value when serving customers, whether they came with complaints or pockets full of cash. Especially for the front liners and customer service, there was an additional requirement they had to adhere to: clear smile. If that was missing, get ready to be scolded by the man who was now looking at his subordinates one by one for almost the entire day.Monday briefings were something the man never missed. Thomas Adam, the man's name, was as sturdy as a brand-new p
Every morning for Olive was a delight. Opening her eyes with a sparkle of happiness was a duty. So for Olive, it was just like any other morning. This morning too, she had to greet it with joy. She immediately put on a smile with a blush on her slightly chubby face. Her shoulder-length, somewhat reddish-blonde hair was tied up high. She already had her black backpack with a BTS keychain hanging on its right side slung over her shoulder.She was ready to go to work. But before she actually left, bidding farewell to her mother was a must. Although..."Mom," she whispered half-heartedly. She crouched down slightly to level herself with her deeply sleeping mother. "Olive's leaving. Breakfast is ready. Don't have coffee first, Mom. Cut down on cigarettes.""Rude," her mother grumbled with a soft and husky voice. Her eyes still refused to open. She just shifted to change her reclining position. "Be careful on the road, Olive."Olive smiled faintly. "Okay, Mom. Olive's leaving."There was no
The beautiful woman in a black blazer paired with a striking red blouse walked confidently. Her eyes occasionally scanned the surroundings as she strolled down the corridor. She didn't want anything out of place because the boss liked perfection. Or maybe she would find an administrative staff member she had been monitoring, busy with their work, engrossed in their phone. It's not forbidden, but personal phone use had its own time."Good afternoon, Ms. Marta," greeted one of the administrative staff members, named Kiara."Good afternoon, Kiara," Marta smiled tightly.That was it. The rest of them returned to their work, and Marta continued her steps towards the boss's office. In Marta's eyes, the head of the SAVEFUND CBD branch was quite unique. Not much talkative, rarely seen socializing with other staff members, having lunch alone, and when he did speak, it was enough to create tension and a pounding heart. His voice was firm, and he didn't want much small talk; he wanted things to
A week has passed since Olive was asked to transfer to the CBD branch. Ever since she received her transfer letter, Olive hasn't been too calm. Several times, she tried to find information about the situation in Jakarta, but always came across one name.Thomas Dimitry Adam."I heard he's the kind of branch manager who's rigid. Not much talk. Not fun, you know. Unlike Bu Sonia."Olive feels even more nervous."But he's the only one who's annoying. The others are cool. Bu Marta, the Deputy Branch Manager, is nice too. Not annoying like him," Riana informed."Know-it-all, huh, Riana," Darius said as he took a bite of his lunch. His date invitation failed. Olive declined, citing the shock of receiving the sudden transfer letter. Darius tried to invite Olive to spend time together again, but it always ended in rejection. Sometimes Darius was confused about how far he should take the embarrassment of being rejected multiple times by Olive; he never took it to heart."Ugh!" Riana pouted. "I
Olive blinked slowly. She didn't expect this kind of response from someone she had just met."Are you still going to stand there?" the man interrupted Olive's reverie."Oh, no, sir," Olive replied, folding her lips, trying to smile genuinely, though her heart suddenly felt incredibly heavy. How could her first meeting with her boss give her the impression that her new workplace would be uncomfortable? Oh my gosh! She then walked to the spot indicated by Thomas.Handsome but annoying like this, his level of handsomeness has decreased significantly! Olive grumbled inwardly."This is my transfer letter, sir." Before being asked, Olive had already given the letter to Thomas, who was busy with his reports again. Her mind immediately compared Sonia's and Thomas's treatment."Sonia would never be like this. Geez... it's only the first day, and he's already getting on my nerves!" Olive looked at her interlocutor, who was also her boss."I've read the letter," Thomas said briefly without bothe
Olive pouted, scowling for about five seconds. Her eyes kept darting back and forth between Riana and Darius, clearly annoyed. "Useless friends," she muttered. "Hey, Liv, we are useful. Look, we found out the real gossip," Darius said. "What!" Olive put her spoon down a bit forcefully. She had devoured a bowl of meatball soup with instant noodles that she loved. Though she was full, thinking about the behavior of someone like Thomas earlier made Olive want to eat even more. "Don't let it spread everywhere, okay? I don't want trouble at my new workplace." Riana and Darius laughed even more. "You're taking it too seriously," Riana said while patting Olive's shoulder. "It's not just about being too serious, Na." Olive's shoulder slumped. "He's just so annoying, seriously. Totally different from Mrs. Sonia. I really regret agreeing to this transfer." "It's only been a day, Liv," Darius chimed in. "Aside from the new boss, is there anything
Once again, Olive checked the condition of her house. She didn't want to leave anything behind, especially issues with the stove and electricity. She was very afraid of causing problems because of those two things. And since the distance from her house to her office took up quite a bit of time, she intentionally left much earlier than usual."Hey, Olive, are you heading out already?" Bu Kiran, one of her neighbors, asked. The black bags she was carrying suggested she might have just come from a local store."Yeah, Bu," Olive replied with a friendly smile. "I'm leaving first.""Be careful, Liv. Why are you heading out so early?" Kiran was a bit surprised. In Kiran's eyes, Olive was a good and polite girl, despite her mother..."Yeah, I am. I've moved to an office in the CBD."Kiran simply nodded in response to Olive's words. "The CBD is quite far, isn't it? Well, you take care, Liv."Once again, Olive nodded."Has your mother not woken
Olive stomped her foot in frustration. She hit the innocent motorcycle's seat quite hard. If only she could scream in the parking lot to vent her anger, she would have done it. But Olive was using her wits to behave herself. She didn't want to unleash her desire to curse out her boss right now. And what if someone else heard her and made things even messier?Being humiliated in front of Dela and Ayana was already bad enough.She breathed heavily in frustration, scanning her surroundings. "Argh!" She couldn't take it anymore. "So annoying!!!" She wanted to say: "You damn boss, you're so annoying and jobless!" But she held back. "Oh Lord! Give me plenty of patience! Don't let me grow old in my mind because of this crazy boss!"But Olive couldn't get rid of the image of her boss and his words, still echoing in her mind since earlier.It all started during the busy hours when the queue was quite long, and one of the priority customers wanted to be served firs