Turquoise Summer ✓

Chapter 3

What a way to start your first day at work. Luna was taken aback by the actor's behaviour. As usual, she started psychoanalysing him. His facial expressions, body language, and voice modulation. She sensed fear in him. Her analysis was cut short by Bianca.

"That is a once-in-a-blue-moon kind of client. Don't worry, I will move you to another project. The clause he mentioned does forbid any new person from being a part of the project midway. It just slipped my mind. I apologise. I should have been more careful." 

Luna nodded her head in acceptance and assured her that things were alright and they didn't need to worry about anything. She had had quite a few stubborn celebrity clients like these back when she worked in New York. But she was known for her success working with those who have had at least a dozen architects fired. It had grown into her speciality. The sun had set long ago and she didn't notice it until the security had begun his rounds. Most of them had left. Working past your schedule was considered a positive in Korea. Luna didn't agree with working overtime but she would end up staying up losing track of time. Luna wasn't quite the employees' favourite. Her juniors tried working overtime to make a good impression. Despite asking them to not do so, she found herself annoyed rather than impressed. She believed that your work is a means to live and not life itself. She found herself being a hypocrite sometimes. During her early years, she had to leave and switch between jobs due to her beliefs and ideology. After a long run, she decided to set aside her ideology and stick up to the company until she was in a post that carried power. It took her five years of grovelling to reach where she is now. She didn't hold much power but she was able to find a job that suits her and was flexible.

 After the long day, she set on a journey to find the best restaurant in town. She loved cafe hopping and trying new cuisines which came as a part of being brought up in a mixed-race household. She glanced over the list of places that Mary had given her earlier. On the first day in a foreign country where you don't speak the local language; you are bound to get lost. She found herself confused about what to choose and finally settled to have some ramen. The classic dish in every K-drama. She bought a few groceries and headed home. Cooking wasn't her forte but she didn't stop herself from cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Only that the storm usually ended with her ordering takeaway or ending up with food poisoning. No matter how hard she tried to follow the recipes, something was bound to go wrong. Her most successful recipes were grilled cheese sandwiches, instant noodles, tea, fresh juice, toast, and scrambled eggs. But how was one to have these for their entire life? So every place she stayed had a bunch of fliers around the corner. Once she had even subscribed to this healthy meal plan where they would send over a healthy packed meal to your house. We all know what happens to 'Healthy meals' after a month or two. 

Luna had been living alone for a long time and she was accustomed quite well to living alone. Though her cooking skills were concerning, she managed her house well. Thanks to her mom who was nicknamed 'Marie Kondo' in the house. She had set out the outfit for the next day, cleaned the studio and set her alarm, and lied down to get the night's rest. And then the power decided to welcome her. She woke up with a jolt and decided to investigate. She looked out of her window and it seemed like they didn't have power too. Relief swept over her. At least she wasn't alone. You know the happiness you receive when you know that the other person also has the same ill fate. She looked it up on the internet and found out that power cuts weren't that common. She sighed at the welcome she received and decided to sleep it off. What else could someone without any contacts and basic language skills do at midnight? The next morning, the power was back on and so were the rainy clouds. Looks like the entire universe wants to welcome her into the city. At the office, things seemed better. There were no terrified or worried faces which was a relief. She went to her cabin and found a note on the table. 'Meet me at my office as soon as you come - Bianca'. Luna went to meet Bianca who was eagerly waiting for her. She called for two coffees and set her eyes on Luna. 

"So Luna, how are things going for you? I hope you have settled in. We got to jump right into a new project. It is another celebrity project, it is a farmhouse this time. We are excited to see you work your magic. We have heard great things about your celebrity clients and works. Let's see how you hold up here." 

She handed over a red folder to Luna and gestured to her to have her coffee. She opened the folder and started reading through it. Team Gamma was going to be working with her and she headed over to meet them. Team Gamma was one of the teams that had worked on most big-profile clients. The team consisted of Julia, Liam, and Olivia. They were more than excited to meet their new team head. They exchanged pleasantries and sat down to work. Julia was excited since it was her favourite celebrity and had always wanted to meet him but she also assured her that she would be highly professional when it comes to working. Liam opened up his Wikipedia page and started scrolling through it. That's when something caught Luna's eyes. The photo. It was the guy she had met at the airport. But the name was different. It took a moment for her to realise what had happened.

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