The next day, at exactly eight in the morning.
Sava stood on the balcony of her apartment with a cup of hot matcha latte in hand. A thin veil of steam still rose from the surface, carrying the gentle aroma of matcha through the morning air as it began to warm.
From up high, the city was slowly waking up. Roads that had previously been quiet were starting to fill with vehicles. The occasional honk sounded in the distance, blending with the roar of engines and the noise of people already busy starting their day.
While the people below were probably rushing to beat the clock, Sava stood there lazily, her hair still a little messy and dressed in house clothes, as though she didn't have a single care in the world.
The phone sitting on the small table beside her had just displayed a notification that her application email had been sent.
Sava stared at the screen for a few seconds.
Her finger hovered over the phone before finally pressing Send.
Her official job application had been sent.
Instead of feeling relieved, Sava let out a long sigh.
“Ah!” Sava tipped her head back and gazed at the sky with a hopeful expression.
“Hopefully they don't accept me!”
The hand holding her glass of matcha even lifted as if she were praying.
“It'd be a nightmare if I suddenly got an interview invitation tomorrow morning!”
Sava lowered the glass, then leaned both elbows against the balcony railing.
“I do want to work. Just not in healthcare.” She pursed her lips, then shook her head. “Honestly, dealing with hundreds of people and all their different mental health complaints would just stress me out too!”
Sava paused for a moment.
Her gaze drifted toward the buildings across the way.
“But what can I do if seven generations of my family are supposed to become psychologists?” Sava let out a dramatic sigh. “Even Mom almost stressed herself out over it, right…?”
She then shrugged as though she had no other choice in life.
Sava took a sip of her matcha latte.
Her eyes immediately closed for a moment as the signature bittersweet taste of matcha filled her mouth.
“Mmm…”
At least there was still one thing that could make her life feel all right.
Sava turned her gaze back to the cityscape. But apparently, that peace was destined to last only a few seconds.
Because afterward, her brain started working again in a way that made absolutely no sense.
“Seriously!” Sava suddenly straightened.
The glass in her hand almost spilled because of the abrupt movement.
“This is all I want.”
She pointed at herself with her index finger.
“Drink matcha, receive reports from my own company, go to the office whenever I feel like it…”
Sava began counting her daydreams on her fingers.
“If I feel like going to the office, I go. If I don't, then I don't.”
Another finger went up.
“If I don't feel like having a meeting, we move the meeting.”
A third finger.
“If I'm tired, everyone gets told not to bother me.”
Sava fell silent.
Then her eyes lit up.
“Or…”
A smile slowly spread across her face.
To anyone who knew her, that smile was a sure sign that the woman was about to say something completely unreasonable.
“At the very least, I could become a CEO's wife or something.”
Sava bit her lip to hold back a smile. She even hugged the matcha glass with both hands.
“Then my husband would forbid me from working…”
Sava stared blankly ahead with an expression full of feeling.
“And tell me to be a princess at home…” Her head tilted slightly.
“Ahh…”
Sava let out a long sigh.
“It's my dream!”
She even closed her eyes for a moment, imagining her dream life.
Wake up in the morning without an alarm.
Drink matcha.
No need to chase deadlines.
No need to deal with people who sent emails with the subject line URGENT even though the message only said, “Hey, can I ask you something?”
No need to deal with a boss.
No need to look for a job.
No need to—
Ding!
A notification from her phone cut through Sava's fantasy.
Her eyes opened. Sava slowly turned toward the table.
A bad feeling immediately spread through her.
“Don't.”
She walked toward the table carefully.
“Don't, don't, don't…”
Her hand reached for the phone.
A single new email notification was displayed on the screen.
Sava read it.
Silence.
Her brow furrowed.
She opened the email and read its contents.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then her entire expression changed.
“Damn it!” Sava almost dropped her phone.
She set her glass of matcha on the table carelessly, then gripped the phone with both hands.
“How can I turn to ash right now?!” Sava paced back and forth across the balcony.
“Why is there an interview?!”
She threw one hand into the air, her face filled with disbelief.
“I was hoping there wouldn't be one!”
She stopped. Her eyes returned to the phone screen.
“It's not even been a day, and they've already sent me another invitation.”
Sava glanced at the time in the corner of the screen.
“It was only twenty-five minutes ago!”
She stared at her phone as though it had just committed the greatest insult of her life.
“This is insane,” Sava said, raking a hand through her hair.
“Looks like nobody wants to apply to be this guy's executive assistant!”
Sava looked at the email one more time.
There was an interview schedule. There was the company name. There was the position. And most annoying of all—there was the name of the person who would be interviewing her.
Sava swallowed.
“For Neptune's sake…”
She immediately opened her contacts. Less than five seconds later, her finger was already pressing Nayla's name.
The call connected. Sava didn't even give Nayla a chance to say hello.
“Nay, I swear, your boss is insane!”
Sava's voice exploded from the other end of the balcony.
“Take a breath first, Va—”
“How did I get called in for an interview right away?” Sava paced back and forth, rubbing her forehead. “I only sent the email twenty-five minutes ago!”
“Nayla—”
“And you're crazy too, as the HR manager! Why did you approve me right away?!”
Sava stopped midstep.
Her hands went to her hips. Her face clearly showed how betrayed she felt.
On the other end of the call, Nayla sighed.
“Va…” Nayla's voice was much quieter than Sava's.
“That's enough.”
Sava immediately furrowed her brow. “Enough what?”
“I'm in the boss's office.”
Sava's eyes went wide, and her body suddenly stiffened.
“What?”
Nayla hurried to continue before Sava could launch into another barrage of complaints.
“Bye!”
Click. The call disconnected.
Sava stared at her phone screen.
Silence. Two seconds.
Three seconds.
“Ah, shit!” Sava lowered her phone with an irritated expression.
“Nayla, you suck!”
She raised one hand into the air.
“For Neptune's sake, I curse you to turn to stone, Nayla!”
After delivering the curse with complete conviction, Sava fell silent.
She glanced at her phone again.
Then at the interview invitation email.
Then she stared blankly at the buildings in front of her.
Her smile slowly faded. “Wait…”
Sava raised her phone again. “When's the interview?”
She read the email one more time. Her face immediately turned pale.
“Tomorrow?!” Sava's voice echoed across the balcony.
“FUCK!”
Meanwhile, at the office.
The atmosphere in the executive's office was completely different from the balcony of Sava's apartment, which only minutes earlier had been filled with screams and curses directed at Nayla.
Everything in the room looked calm. Too calm, in fact.
The large desk in front of Nayla was nearly flawless. Documents had been arranged neatly in a single stack, all perfectly aligned, while the various items on the desk had each been placed in their proper spots.
Nayla, sitting across from the desk, tried to maintain her posture so she would continue to look professional.
Even though, inside, she had already begun regretting every life decision that had brought her to this room.
The man sitting behind the desk was reading a document in his hand.
His gaze stopped on one name.
“Sava Kirana Larasati.” His voice was calm.
Yet for some reason, those two words immediately made Nayla's back go rigid.
The man lifted his eyes from the document and looked at Nayla with a flat expression.
“Your friend—the one you recommended to me?”
Nayla nodded quickly.
“Yes, sir.”
The man lowered his gaze to the document again.
His fingertip tapped the surface of the paper once before he turned to the next page.
“No one else?”
Nayla was silent for a split second.
She knew the question wasn't mere small talk.
“No, sir.” Nayla tried to answer calmly. “There still haven't been any other applicants.”
The man went back to reading Sava's résumé.
His brow furrowed slightly. “Sava…”
Nayla automatically straightened too.
“She has a degree in psychology,” the man in front of Nayla said.
He paused for a moment. Then he raised his face.
“I have my doubts.”
Nayla immediately fell silent. Not a single word left her mouth.
She actually wanted to explain that Sava really was a psychology graduate, but that the woman also had her reasons for wanting to try a new job.
However, seeing that her boss's expression showed absolutely no interest in hearing a defense, Nayla decided to keep it all to herself.
The man placed Sava's résumé on the desk.
Neat.
Aligned with the other documents.
“Let's try her tomorrow,” he said flatly.
Nayla looked up.
“I want to interview her myself,” he continued.
Nayla froze.
There was a brief pause before she lowered her head.
Meanwhile, in her thoughts—
You're screwed, Sava!
Nayla held her expression in check with all her might.
Why did I have to recommend you?!
Why do I have a friend like Sava?!
But all those curses only spun around inside her head.
Nayla's face remained professional.
“Yes, sir.”
The man didn't answer.
He picked up the document in front of him again, as though their conversation were over.
Nayla quickly stood from her chair.
“Then, if that's all, I'll be going, sir.”
She dipped her head slightly before turning toward the door.
One step.
Two steps.
Her hand hadn't even touched the doorknob when her thoughts returned to Sava.
Nayla closed her eyes for a moment.
Tomorrow, she'd be meeting the boss in person.
The image of Sava's panicked face from a few minutes earlier suddenly appeared in her mind.
Nayla almost wanted to laugh.
But a second later, she remembered one thing. Her boss never liked wasting time.
And Sava?
Sava could spend ten minutes just explaining why she chose matcha over coffee.
Nayla opened her eyes. Her expression suddenly turned serious.
Oh, this wasn't an interview. This was a bloodbath.
Nayla finally opened the door and left the room.