“Nara, where are you?” a woman asked.
Inara was talking to a woman, an old friend of hers. She had just finished working out at a gym.
“What is it? After a whole year, you’re contacting me again.”
“Well ... You left the school group a long time ago. The others want to hold a reunion.”
“A reunion?” Inara furrowed her brow. A clear smile spread across her face when she heard the word “reunion.”
“But why are you inviting me all of a sudden? Didn’t you have several reunions without ever inviting me?”
“Oh my God, don’t be so sensitive. You’re the one who disappeared from the group. We only got your number after the news about you appeared on television. You’ve gotten even more beautiful.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“But, unfortunately ... You still don’t have a partner. My advice is, don’t forget to bring one. This time, the theme of our reunion is bringing our respective partners.”
“Are you actually inviting me or not?”
“Oh ... My God, you’re beautiful, but you still don’t have a partner? Come on, you’re twenty-six years old.”
“I do! I’ll bring someone. Let me know the place and time. Okay, I’m busy. Bye!”
“Tsk!”
Inara clicked her tongue in annoyance after speaking with her old friend.
“I should never have gotten involved with Arena again. She’s always deliberately tried to put me down.”
“Now where am I supposed to find a boyfriend?!”
Inara massaged her temple.
“And I already promised her.”
The woman decided to end her workout. Then she quickly gathered her belongings. As she left the building, she spotted a boiled-peanut-and-corn vendor.
“That looks good.”
Inara walked over to the vendor. Her naturally cheerful expression made her look friendly whenever she met someone new. But in truth, she only wanted to treat her past as a lesson.
“Oh my God!” a man exclaimed in shock when Inara tapped him on the shoulder.
“This looks delicious.”
“Would you like some?”
“Yes.”
Inara reached into her bag and pulled out a business card.
“Come to my house tonight,” Inara said, then walked away without another word.
The man furrowed his brow, then stared at Inara’s business card.
“Does she know who I am?” he wondered.
He checked his phone as quickly as possible. The thin device showed no text messages or calls at all.
“There’s no booking. So why did she invite me to her house?”
“Inara ...”
“I feel like I’ve heard this woman’s name before.”
Without waiting any longer, he searched the internet. His eyes widened when he saw information about the woman.
“If her information is on the internet, then she’s no ordinary person. No wonder she contacted me directly instead of through the app.”
“Okay ... All right. Today, I’ll give her my best service so she’ll keep calling me back.”
Night had fallen.
Inara was sitting casually in her house. The woman was wearing nothing but fairly revealing sleepwear. Since she lived alone, she was always free to dress however she wanted inside her home.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
Inara’s eyes widened. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Just as she was about to get up, the door opened first.
A handsome man stood proudly in the doorway. His eyes never left Inara’s body. Smiling broadly, he walked toward the woman.
“Why is he so well-dressed? He didn’t look like this when he was selling things earlier,” Inara thought.
“Looks like you’re all ready to experience my skills.”
“Wait here. I’m going to change.”
“Hey, why change? Aren’t we going to do it?”
“Ha! Do what?” Inara asked.
“You called me to satisfy you, didn’t you?” he asked, still curious. “Zack will make you fly so high that all you’ll be able to see is white.”
Smack!
“Watch your mouth. I called you here to offer you a job, not to do something stupid ... And Zack—that’s your name?”
“You’re already broke, so don’t be so high and mighty. If I wanted to be satisfied, I wouldn’t have asked you. God knows what kind of filth you brought in from outside.”
The man turned his face away.
“What does this woman mean?! Is she trying to insult me?!” he thought.
“Wait here. I’ll be back.”
His heart pounded.
“This is the first time anyone has insulted me using my real identity.”
“Idiot! You should have thought first, Jeki. Not every woman is interested in you.”
“I have to leave. I’m seriously embarrassed.”
As the man was about to leave Inara’s home, the owner finally came after him.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“I’m sorry ... I overstepped.”
“Sit down!”
“Yes.”
The atmosphere began to grow awkward, especially for the man.
“What’s your name?”
“Jeki.”
“Jeki ... I don’t know what kind of attitude you were showing earlier. But there’s one thing you need to know: I’m not the kind of woman you think I am.”
“Yes, I was wrong.”
“Here’s the thing ... I want to offer you an easy job with fairly high pay.”
“What is it?” he asked.
“I have a reunion with some friends coming up. I want to rent you as my boyfriend. I’ll pay whatever you ask.”
“That’s all?”
“Yes! Easy, right?”
“Five million ... I need that money for this month.”
“What do you need it for this month?” Inara asked. “Are you trying to extort me?”
“No ... I need the money for my mother’s medical treatment. Actually, I need more than that.”
“What’s wrong with your mother?” Inara asked, growing curious.
“My mother has kidney failure. I have to take her for dialysis twice a week.”
“And you can get that five million every time?”
“Always ... But lately, I haven’t gotten any calls because my workplace was shut down.”
“Sorry, what do you do for work? They can shut down a place that only sells corn and peanuts?”
“My corn.”
“Your corn?” Inara grew even more confused. The next second, her eyes widened. “You ... That attitude earlier. You sell yourself?”
“Like I said, I need money for my mother ... But don’t worry. No one will know I’m a paid man.”
“How can no one know when you’re always meeting so many women?”
“They don’t know me. Because whenever I do a job, I always wear a mask, just like the identity I use on the app.”
“Damn ... Wait, what’s your alias?”
“Zack.”
Inara looked the man up and down. Then she took out her phone and showed him a photo of a man wearing nothing but underwear and a mask.
“Is this you?”
“Where did you get that picture?”
“I have a friend. She recommended that I rent a man so I wouldn’t feel lonely. But I wasn’t interested at all, even after she showed me this photo.”
“Please don’t expose my secret. It’s the only way I can make money.”
“But why don’t you wear a mask today?”
“I trusted you because I looked up your identity earlier. I’m sure you won’t spread mine.”
“You could get a better job. Why do this?”
“I’m in college. I even sell corn and boiled peanuts whenever I have no bookings and school is on break.”
“So you’re still in college?”
“Yes.”
“Looking at your build, I thought we were the same age, or that you might even be older.”
“No. I’m only twenty.”
“Okay, you’ll be my paid boy toy. But not to satisfy my desires. I’m not interested in you that way, unlike my friend. I only—”
Thump!
Inara stopped talking when Jeki gripped both sides of her shoulders.
“W-what are you doing?”