Almost Lover

Chapter 1 -An Early Twist in My Story

Chapter 1

A couple of weeks ago, my best friend, Wonhee, had introduced me to the concept of laws of attraction. Ever since she read The Secret, she'd been telling me that everything that occurs in life happens because you attract it and make it happen. Every person can attract negative or positive energy, depending on what kind of images you put in your mind and what kind of things you allow your mind to expect. I never really understood what she meant. Until today.

I started this day with a bad mood, all because my alarm clock didn't go off (or maybe it did, but for some reason, I didn't hear it or chose not to hear it). In my hurry, I stubbed a toe hard against the bathroom door, prompting me to utilize my limited vocabulary of profanities (all the sh!ts and the craps I could scream). So basically, I had filled my mind with unwanted negativity, and this unfavorable energy hovered around during breakfast, manifesting itself in a broken cup and a burnt toast. And when I got out of the house to leave for work, I was greeted with a flat tire that I apparently happened to miss last night when I pulled in the driveway. What a freakin' nightmare, and I wasn't even asleep.

I desperately wanted this day to start off right because it's the first day of my very first job (at least one that I applied for using my own personal credentials, not my family background), but unfortunately, it didn't. I wondered if it was a sign of more bad things to happen at the company I was about to work at, but I told myself otherwise.

Convincing myself that everything would be okay didn't stop me from crying, though. When I came back in the house teary-eyed because of the flat-tire, Wonhee demanded that I get myself together if I still wanted the day to turn out okay. She told me to take her motor scooter to work, assuring me that I would still get there on time. After wearing the full motorcycle gear – a black riding suit that covered every inch of my body, yellow gloves, and a yellow, dark-shielded helmet – over my work clothes, I went to work feeling a little uplifted. Who wouldn't when you're looking like a Power Ranger about to save the world?

But of course, the negative energy still followed me, even with the hideous outfit I was in. I was convinced that the negative energy was the reason why I got into a bigger adversity. A few minutes after leaving the house, when I tried to stop at a red traffic light, I accidentally pushed the accelerator hard instead of the brake, and then I hit the car in front of me. A Mercedes. The kind you don't want to run into when you have no car insurance and flat broke like me. I cringed after seeing the big vertical dent on the shiny silver bumper. I hoped the owner didn't notice that I just bumped into his car, but of course, with the kind of luck I was having today (or the lack thereof), I knew that wasn't going to be the case.

The car signaled to pull over, and when it did, out came a middle-aged man in a starchy black suit. He was kind-looking, to my relief, someone who looked like he would understand and be lenient on a penniless girl like me if I told him my financial situation. I thought maybe he would allow me to pay the damage in an installment plan or something.

I pulled over behind his car with high hopes.

As I was about to say something to the ajusshi, another man came out from the back seat of the car. This one was young, tall, well-dressed, and very handsome – the kind that you want to meet if you're a romantic person who constantly dreams about your handsome prince walking into your life. I almost melted as soon as he stepped out of the car. I thought this day had already turned to another direction – to a more positive one.

But, boy, was I wrong.

This one had an attitude, displaying a full-on rich-boy tantrum mode in the middle of the traffic-jammed street. He slammed the car door and ran to the rear of the car to check the damage, yelling a more advanced profane vocabulary than I had earlier, words that I didn't even know existed.