7 Mr. Potato

Rain poured outside the window, the water hitting the glass pane trickled down, making the outside world blurry for the person within. But it didn't matter. With or without the rain outside, the rain in her heart had already made her vision cloudy since earlier.

It's six in the evening, an hour since she returned home from work and half an hour since she'd discarded her fancy business suit. She had changed into her pajamas and was now nursing a steaming cup of tea in her hands as she lounged on the sofa.

Yanee Lee had a red nose and moist eyes as she stared at the window. Her plump lips clamped into a line as she took deep breaths. She'd been fighting the urge to cry out loud for a while now – had been resisting the urge to let her pain get the better of her since this afternoon.

"That project, if done correctly would be a huge hit. If not, say goodbye to your job."

Tohru James, the mean potato boss, gave her the ultimatum: to work or get out.

A bitter smile played on her lips as a fat tear finally formed at the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheeks. As soon as it did, Yanee stubbornly shifted her cup into one hand as she angrily wiped her eyes. But that one teardrop was the beginning of her undoing.

The rest of her tears cascaded down like water bursting from a dam, and she was left with nothing to do but put her cup down onto the table as her audible cries started to escape her lips.  Her body racked in her sorrow as she sniffed.

The door opened without her noticing and a slender lady in a beige business suit entered with her long legs and feet in glossy beige stiletto trudged the carpeted floor in silence. The woman was stunning with her fair skin, a huge pair of eyes with violet contact lenses, a scarlet lippie on her perfect bow of a mouth.

However, the woman in question had blue hair instead of the usual color. But it didn't lessen her beauty. Her overwhelming aura oozed with confidence, and this was probably what made her the more attractive.

"What happened?" the woman asked, making Yanee jerk from the sofa in surprise.

Yanee lifted her teary face, her lips puckering in a pitiful bow as she opened her arms towards the newcomer for a hug.

"Big sis, I'm sooooooo angry," she wailed, and the other woman hurriedly went to her crying sister.

"What happened? Did you get bullied?" Ami asked as she hugged her.

"I think… I think I will quit my job,"Yanee sobbed, making her sister's eyes widen.

"What? But isn't that your dream job?" she sounded incredulous, and Yanee could understand why.

Ever since they were in elementary, Yanee had already wanted to become a writer for a notable publishing company. To say that she wanted to quit work now was totally shocking not just for her sister but probably to their parents when they hear about it.

"I don't want it anymore. I'll go back to Nagoya," Yanee wept.

"Are you an idiot? You worked so hard to come here, and now you're saying you want to return after just two years?"

The apartment they were staying at was a two-bedroom unit owned by her older sister. Yanee just came to live with Ami two years ago when she started working for the magazine based in Tokyo after working so hard for a magazine based in their hometown. The two of them hailed from Nagoya, and they still went home during the holidays to spend time with their parents.

"Tell me what happened," Ami prompted as she plopped on the sofa next to Yanee, but not before handing her a tissue.

 As usual, with her sister's authoritative voice, Yanee followed, and she told her everything that happened.

"What? Your company was taken over and nobody told you?"

As a businesswoman who owned an events company, Yanee knew that Ami was aghast. She nodded.

"I just found out this morning when I arrived. Chummy told me. Everyone was reshuffled somewhere, and I ended up in the literature department. Even if I got promoted as an assistant to the editor, it was still awful."

Knowing how disinterested she was with literature, Ami gave her a sympathetic pat on the leg.

"But at least you still didn't get fired or something. You still have a job."

Yanee knew Ami was correct, just as Chummy was correct. But her new dilemma was something she was not confident to solve.

"I do have a job. But my boss gave me something very difficult," Yanee told her about the book anthology that she was tasked to do.

"So your boss actually already gave you sources for the stories," Ami commented and when Yanee nodded, she frowned. "So why are you depressed? Your boss was actually nice to give you materials for research. If it were me, I will just let you do your own research. It's your job anyway."

Well, now that Yanee thought about it, it was also correct. Tohru James was indeed very nice to give her somewhere to start. Actually, he'd given her a complete list of people to get information from, to interview about their stories. All Yanee needed to do was compile those data and write something from them based on their words.

Sounded easy….NOT.

"But I can't write romance. It's not my cup of tea."

What annoyed Yanee the most was that she was very sure her boss knew that tiny bit of info. She had specifically told him what she thought about romance in general and romance about office affairs specifically. She didn't approve of them and would like to stay away from them.

"That potato knew I dislike it. I really feel like he hates me and is punishing me."

"What potato?"

Ami looked confused, and Yanee would have laughed if she were not so angry.

"Yes, my boss is a potato – an ugly potato I will chop, chop, and chop!" she added as she gritted her teeth, imagining Tohru James' smiling face.

Even if he's really good-looking, he's forever canceled in her heart.

Ami on the other hand still looked confused, but ignored her words, focusing on the problem at hand.

"Well, if you want to chop, chop, chop your boss, you should do a good job then," her sister advised, before frowning. "Why do you think he wants to punish you by the way? I thought today was his first day at work too."

"Because I made him answer interviews for the magazine he didn't want last time," Yanee answered in a growl.

Contrary to what he said, the guy probably really took it personally and was now punishing her because he was forced into it, even if it was Yanee's previous boss who made him do so.

"What? You interviewed him before?"

"Yes – remember the five men I had to interview before I went to the Philippines?" Yanee prompted, and Ami's eyes widened as she scrambled on the floor to snatch the magazine under the coffee table in the living room. She flipped through the pages and stopped to where the photos of the five men Yanee interviewed were.

"Which one is he?"Ami asked, and Yanee pointed at a picture of a raven-haired, handsome, young man, and Ami turned to her with a look saying that she's crazy.

"I thought he looks like a potato?"