"Olive, what's wrong?" Darius asked shortly after placing a tray of French fries, burgers, and various sodas. There were some other snacks, but the main attraction was the crispy fried chicken, Riana's favorite.
"How should I know?" Riana grabbed her portion and also set aside a few orders for Darius and Olive. "This kid's been acting like a hungry monster."
"You're weird!" Olive finally lifted her head from the table, where she had placed it since earlier to clear her mind. How could she forget the incident from this morning so easily? She was annoyed with Thomas Adam to some extent, though not too much.
But... there was a "but."
Why did it have to be Mr. Matthew who suddenly greeted them?! Oh, God! If it turned into gossip all of a sudden? What would Olive do then? She had already promised never to get close to Thomas again, and yet she herself had broken that promise. Why did Marta's image suddenly appear at Olive's doorstep a few hours ago? So, she co
So, all the morning turmoil that Olive felt began because of Thomas. If Olive could, she would drag Thomas and drown him in the vast ocean somewhere on the beach, she would have done it since yesterday. Wait, not in Jakarta. Olive needs to rent a bigger speedboat to get to the deeper part of the sea, maybe around Jakarta Harbor. Just to get even!!!Olive reminisces about what happened yesterday on her Saturday with the incredibly annoying Thomas.First, Thomas's nonsense remarks were met with thunderous laughter. It's like what he said was meant to be a source of amusement. What does that mean? Is Olive an object of ridicule here? In front of Mr. Matthew? Seriously?Second, Thomas just hugged her as if his actions carried no weight at all. Besides Thomas's heavy hand hanging on Olive's shoulder, the girl was also flustered because of their closeness. Does her boss even realize that their almost nonexistent distance could potentially land Olive in the hospital? H
Thomas grumbles softly."At the office, if I make coffee, I'll be hated by everyone," Olive says casually. With laughter and meaningful glances at Thomas's coffee cup. What does that mean? Olive knows she deliberately made salty coffee for Thomas.If she remembers what happened yesterday, there was a sense of satisfaction, no doubt about it. But the problem is, the turmoil didn't just end like that. She has told everything to Darius and Riana. Their response? Laughter, of course. They said Olive doesn't know how to appreciate it. Being liked by the boss isn't a good thing; it's a source of distress.Where does the boss's fondness come from if it's like this? Olive hasn't found a suitable correlation in Riana and Darius's words. Sharing with them didn't make Olive feel any better. In fact, it's getting worse, especially when she entered the office this morning.Because here's the problem.Thomas asked for a day off.Said he had a stomachache.
However, most of Olive's heart is filled with guilt. It's as if Thomas's eyes are everywhere, then saying, "I'm sick because of you. Take responsibility!"Olive's hair stands on end as she starts her motorcycle. The usual parking area she visits is bustling with other workers getting ready to leave. There's no shortage of casual conversations about things Olive doesn't quite understand. But why does she feel like Thomas is nearby? Staring at her sharply, his mouth ready to spew his anger and be stern with her.It makes Olive remember that Thomas is sick today because of her. If only she hadn't played around with coffee and salt, she wouldn't be feeling like this, right?"Forget it! Who cares? Whose fault is it for being annoying?" Olive chooses to put on her jacket and helmet. Making sure nothing is left behind, the rearview mirror is also adjusted to her preferred angle. Speaking of rearview mirrors, Olive finds them indispensable. She can see other drivers wit
What did Olive say about wanting to visit Thomas? It's bound to be a problem!Sure enough, since she arrived, Thomas has been very sarcastic towards her. Fortunately, Olive can categorize this as her own kind of luck. Her coworkers have all gone home; she didn't encounter a single one there. Only their traces remain in the form of a fruit basket and a few small bags of food."Mr... Are you feeling much better?" Olive asked, mustering her courage. She needs to see Thomas's face first before asking. Even though he's lying in front of her with a scowl, coldness, rudeness, sarcasm, and sternness, Olive can't just stand there doing nothing, right? It's pointless to be in Thomas's hospital room but remain silent like this."What do you think?" Thomas asks while glancing at Olive standing at the end of his bed. "What are you doing there? Did you change your status to a nurse in this hospital?""No, Mr. Thomas," Olive said, looking down."Sit here." Thomas
For the first time, Olive hugged her bolster tightly. Twice, she adjusted her pillow slightly further back on the bed. The third time, Olive covered herself with a blanket! She had done these movements repeatedly all night as she struggled to fall asleep. Even more absurdly, she counted sheep and flying fish in her mind to make herself tired enough to fall asleep.Unfortunately, all her efforts seemed in vain. Instead of getting tired and drowsy, she felt even more awake, and her eyes were wide open. Just when she wanted to watch a replay of a BTS concert from several countries."Argh!!"She threw off her blanket because she couldn't breathe under it. Whose idea was it to use a blanket while sleeping with a fan on? She glanced at the wall clock, and it was already 1 AM. Since she decided to sleep at 10 PM, she hadn't closed her eyes at all. Wasn't anyone going to take her to dreamland?After returning from the hospital, her mother had left her a pack of f
"No, really, Olive. My mother used to say that saying a prayer makes any meal taste good. No matter how simple the dishes are, or even if it's just plain rice because there's no money for side dishes, it still tastes good."Olive fell silent."I've experienced tough times when I couldn't afford meat," Thomas reminisced about his early days in Jakarta. His situation back then was quite sad. His salary was meager, but he had to support himself here and cover his father's medical expenses back in the village. He also had to work extra to save money for his marriage with... oh, why did he have to remember that woman again?Get a grip, Thomas! That woman's life is different from yours now!"I didn't start in my current position, Liv. I had to work my way up. That's why yesterday I gave you advice, right? You're good, but you need to adapt to the CBD branch first to understand how the CBD head teller works. Are you starting to understand what I meant?"O
Marta, with her wide smile, knocked on the door of her crush's office. But don't get it wrong, her heart was waving the flag of defeat, even though she wouldn't admit it. She hadn't lost, not really. She just kept facing rejection. It happened so often that she had memorized that Thomas's smile was mostly a facade. Thomas only ate lunch with Marta when there were other colleagues around.Don't expect her to get a moment alone with Thomas. Oh, except for that one night when he gave her a ride because Marta didn't have her own vehicle. That was a rare exception. If only Thomas would talk more. But no, he remained as silent as a rock, answering Marta's questions briefly. The rest of the conversation was about preparations for the upcoming gathering, including the readiness of the apartment complex that had just been delivered today. Since the theme for this year's event was "princess" and elegant evening gowns, some people rented apartments to match. Others just rented the acces
This time, Olive had lunch at the mall. Dela wanted fried chicken with a burger and fries, even though Olive had recently had the same meal with Riana and Darius. Why repeat it? But seeing Dela's hopeful expression, Olive couldn't refuse. So here she was, sitting and enjoying her chicken.No need to ask how Dela was with her food. She devoured it as if she hadn't eaten for days. But that was alright. Today, the counter was bustling. Many customers were opening accounts, and some were making significant deposits."Olive, you're renting a costume, right?" Dela asked, wiping sauce from the corner of her mouth. "I'm just going to rent one. It's easier since I don't have a costume. Besides, the rental place that Ms. Marta uses is well-known for events like ours. We've been using them year after year.""I see, well, it's affordable for you," Olive chuckled.Dela sighed. "You're so thrifty."Olive just laughed. It might be affordable for them, but it was