summertime soulmate | 夏天灵魂伴侣

♙

After about thirty minutes of strolling through the compacted residential streets, I finally arrived at my destination ー Xinyi business district. Overall, the walk was actually not too bad since it was in the late afternoon, with the beaming sun occasionally hiding over the fluffy white clouds, offering many moments of relieving shade. A solid nine out of ten since I was not covered in sweat but still needed to use my umbrella for cover.

I'll take this as a good sign.

I paused for a moment to take a quick water break. The iconic landmark of Taiwan stood proudly in the short distance, towering itself to the heavenly clouds at a famous one hundred and one floor.

Seeing it always takes my breath away.

I wonder what it's like to be at the very top during the nighttime.

After crossing a busy street intersection, many groups of business workers could be seen traversing back and forth. Despite having multiple lanes, the road was packed with many waiting cars, buses, and countless people on their motorcycles. There were also some tourists with phones out nearby, taking pictures of the landmark and a red LOVE sign outside of the building. Many skyscrapers around here were also respectfully tall, appearing like colossal guardians overseeing the operations of this financial region.

This is a world I will never step into.

Nor will I ever want to.

After all, healthcare and business were two completely divergent paths. I knew there were minimal possibilities for a psychology major to exist in this world.

It does make me sad knowing I will never have the "co-workers barely surviving to meet corporate deadlines" bonding type of experience.

Or sitting in a cubicle doing work with my colleagues.

As I crossed the busy street, I thought about the slice-of-life anime I watched where four cute girls joined a company to make video games and experience the business office culture.

Maybe that's a good thing.

Being fully burnt out and having to stay overtime and even overnight in your company is not something meant to be glorified.

Nor does drinking your sorrows away every night to cope with stress.

Maybe it's more of the camaraderie ーsinging karaoke and grabbing late-night food after work is what I really want.

Oh, can't forget complaining to each other about how bad the company is and how much you want to quit your job.

I continued to amble right below the enormous skyscrapers, searching for the exact office number. The street for pedestrians was incredibly clean and vast to walk on. There were various greeneries such as rich-green trees and large bushes that decorated the front section. In the close distance was an enormous mall with escalators and an MRT station for people who took the super fast subway.

Obviously, my eyes could not help but admire the sheer modern beauty right before me, which was considered one of the many beauties of Taipei. 

No. 422. And here's No. 421... AHA!

No.420.

I found you!

The "building with Starbucks" Nao mentioned was in the middle of the busy street. 

Leaning towards an opaque glass pane, I was barely able to find the green woman logo, located right beside a Family Mart and what seemed to be a bento shop. Honestly, this was the definition of convenience since anyone working from the building could quickly grab good food or drinks to replenish themselves.

I wished they had something like this back in the States.

America 7-11 sucks so badly compare to Asia.

As I nervously stepped inside the lavish lobby hall, a wave of cold air hit my body. Pure euphoria as I had finally escaped the grasp of the hot sun.

My eye instantly noticed a gaudy shining chandelier above a beautiful artisan fountain. It displayed the sheer wealth of this area. S, there were plentiful comfy-looking brown leather couches, decadent paintings, and mahogany coffee tables that were tastefully arranged throughout the entire lounge.

In the distance, I could see the floors. The first and second had various little gift shops with pretty sales ladies, trying to invite you in with sweet words. There were also some restaurants that could be hidden gems. The best part? There was a freaking slide that went from the third to the first floor! 

The security guard at the receptionist's desk waved his hand and stopped me, wearing an unamused look.

He was probably wondering why a random student was loitering around in a business building.

"What you doing here kid?"

"I'm here to return something to Nao," I replied nervously. His muscular build paired with a blue police outfit was very intimidating.

"Nao?" The security guard furrowed his brows, struggling to speak English, and began making obscure hand gestures. "No Nao. Not here. Wrong place. No no no."

Uh...What?

Bringing my phone out, I frowned and checked my location again.

This IS the place...

Starbucks is right inside.

Is this guy trolling?

"No. Nao is in here," I insisted, pointing to the red pin on my 'Maps'. "Somewhere inside..."

He shot me an irritated look, indicating how he was supposed to find this lady in a building with more than fifty floors. Plus, there were probably more than hundreds of workers here, to which I understood his frustration.

But I thought he would know since Nao had said in the LINE chat to tell the security guard. Unless she had forgotten? But she did not seem like the person to forget.

I shot a quick text to her about the confusion but unfortunately, Amae was not online since our last interaction two hours ago.

Again, I was in a pinch of trouble.

"Hmm..." The security guard scratched his head like a monkey as he scrolled through his iPad. A digital list of workers with many Chinese names appeared in an excel sheet. "Mmmm. I don't know. No Amae here. Wrong place."

Should I give a call?

What if she's working right now? Or in a business meeting?

Given that we are practically strangers too... Would that be weird?

I don't know what to do...!