Dark Princess

Aku

I am a poor man. And I have no family, only one memory of who I am.

When I was 10 years old, an adult woman brought me to Seoul from a place in Europe, I'm not sure which part of Europe.

It was the only information I brought with me. Attached to my mind, I traced the traces of those memories over and over in my mind so as not to forget. Yes, it should not be forgotten. Because even if I forget it, I have no identity at all. At least I believe that I came from somewhere, somewhere, in continental Europe. And I believe that.

From my appearance, one can see, I am not purely Korean. My skin color is milky white. My nose is sharp, my lips are beautiful and full. And oh, I have beautiful almond-shaped eyes that are perfect in light brown.

As far as I can remember, I never called anyone a mother or a father. The woman in my memory left me in the garden of a local church. I don't even remember his face let alone his name. From that moment on, I struggled to live alone. I have never, even once, allowed myself to drift. I was lucky to be able to grow well in the midst of adversity. I still consider myself lucky. And for that, I try to live a good life. I have always stressed myself to be a good person. Again and again, every day, because I was lucky. Isn't that Jade?

Until then I met Gaia Kim.

I've had a lot of changes since I worked at Gaia Wear. Slowly but surely, my economic situation improved and I was able to live well. I got a small apartment in Seoul after working as Gaia Kim's personal assistant. I have to admit, he helped my life a lot. Anyone knows that the city is like a jungle if it is associated with the struggle of life of job seekers. Nothing is easy. Everyone knows how difficult it is to get a fixed position in a company and the competition is very tight. Plus, I'm not a graduate of a top university. I have to say, Gaia has picked me up from the trash.

I initially worked at the company for an internship as a graduation requirement to earn a bachelor's degree in economics. After graduation, I was immediately hired as a staff in the administration. This jump was a stroke of luck that not everyone could get. Because Gaia Wear is a fairly large and well-known fashion company in the city. To become an employee there, it takes a long and quality list on the CV sheet. In fact, many of the employees there are graduates abroad, such as France and Italy. That's not an easy thing. And I don't know why this particular thing could happen to me. But in the midst of that confusion, I decided to accept it with pleasure and work very hard, harder than anyone in the company, to be able to keep up with their level of competence. Although I must admit, my achievements can not be as good as them.

After a year of working as a contract employee, Gaia made me her personal assistant. It was a very drastic career jump. I understand when people in the office start speculating the weirdest. One of them, they said that I was dating Gaia Kim, so I was able to step up as soon as possible. Which, again I have to say, I don't care. Based on my living conditions, if Gaia were to propose to me to be her boyfriend, I would say yes. Life is too hard to ignore such a golden opportunity. Why should I make it harder?

...

It wasn't my first time to Singapore, so it was easy enough for me to adapt to the situation there. My watch lyrics, still at 8 a.m., means I still have time for breakfast. The scheduled meeting with Earnest Fashion is still two hours, which is 10 am.

As soon as I arrived at the Earnest Corps office location, I walked into the starbuck that was among the many cafes and restaurants around the area. After breakfast, I was able to enter the office easily. Stay on foot.

I went in, ordered sandwiches and hot tea. Although I travel to faraway places, I like to go to familiar places rather than exploring new things. I even plan, if they don't provide lunch, to look for McD or KFC around that place as well. I never want to disappoint myself and get something unexpected by trying new things. It's nice if what I get is good and the food is good. But it would be very troublesome if the new thing was something bad. It would only ruin my mood and affect my performance on that day. So I better play it safe. Starbuck is a safe option.

After getting the order, I sat in the corner of the cafe and enjoyed every bit of hot tea zero sugar and every bite of a sandwich. In such moments, I choose to enjoy every detail. I remind myself to always be grateful. That I was so lucky when I was still able to sit comfortably somewhere on earth while enjoying a meal. I know that not all people on Earth enjoy the same things. And I was guessing, maybe, I was in that situation. When I can't enjoy simple things like that.

I don't know what happened to me when I was a kid. There is no memory of anything, or things that can help to remember. But for some reason, I'm very easy to be grateful for the little things. Sometimes, when my hormones are unstable, I even feel touched and cry just because of the trivial things that others can easily have. I hold every right of mine, my job, my little house, the food I eat, or whatever it is. That's how I feel safe and think that I'm on the right track, as a human being.

While eating with pleasure, I hope many times in my heart, the project, please God, help me to finish it well. I want to bring good news to Gaia. Anyway, I need that job for as long as possible. If possible, for a lifetime.

My phone's ringing, from Gaia.

I smiled back. I am happy to get that kind of attention from him. I mean, any kind of attention. Sometimes, he would just scold me and yell over the phone, but I was happy. At least, someone still called me and talked to me. For me, it is a form of care and concern. And it's so much better than nothing. Such things happen as proof of my existence on earth, among other human beings.

I always thanked Gaia.