Maki sighed as she heard her phone ring for the 7th time that day. After taking another sip of a cup of hot chocolate, Maki quickly pressed the red button on her phone, ignoring the call.

The cafe Maki was sitting in was almost empty, and the waiters were getting ready to close. As the lights dimmed one by one, Maki stood up and walked out of the shop. Why won't Nico stop bothering me...

It has almost been a month since Maki started working, and Marsida was getting more and more intolerable each day. Maki's mother had promised that Maki would stop working under Marsida once Maki got her first paycheck, but that was 3 entire days away. And Nico's constant bothering did nothing to help.

"Nishikino? You're still here?"

Maki looked at So Hyun, who was stepping off the elevator. "I was in the cafe."

"It's already midnight, your shift ended 2 hours ago."

"I know."

"Why are you still here?"

Maki sighed. "I'm on call right now, but Marsida wouldn't allow me to leave until midnight. She said something about accidents happening more in the middle of the night..."

So Hyun frowned. "Must be tough, working under her. Wanna get some ice cream?"

"I already ate."

"Come on, that was probably hours ago. I know this great ice cream place just down the street."

"I'll tell my driver to pick me up there."

"Welcome to Rosey Icey Treats! How many people-"

"2." So Hyun smiled at Maki.

Maki and So Hyun sat down on a table for two, and the waitress put two pastel coloured menus on the table.

Maki looked at the menu. There seemed to be at least 20 different flavors including rose, lavender, and daffodils. "Rose flavored ice cream?"

The waitress smiled. "It's our bestseller! The ice cream is infused with rose extract, and makes an exquisite taste! Would you like to try?"

So Hyun winked at Maki. "Go on, try it!"

Maki nodded hesitantly. "I'll have one scoop of that in a bowl."

So Hyun smiled at the waitress. "I'll have my usual."

The waitress nodded and walked away, and Maki's phone rang again. Sighing, Maki ignored the call.

"Who's calling you?"

"My friend."

"Why aren't you answering?"

"She's been bothering me for the entire day about some sort of vacation plan. It's ridiculous, really."

So Hyun frowned. "You should answer her. You worked harder than everyone this past month. Don't you deserve a vacation?"

Maki sighed and answered Nico's call. "Hi, Nico."

"MAKI! Why didn't you answer me?"

"Um..."

"Actually, nevermind! You need to start packing your bags immediately for the trip this next week."

"I never agreed on going to this trip of yours."

"Too bad, because your mom already agreed to let us stay at your vacation home! We leave on Monday and we come back on Tuesday of the next week! Make sure to pack lots of cute outfits, I'll be vlogging everything!"

Maki bit her lip. Today is Friday, and I get my pay on Sunday. "Excuse me?"

"Bye!"

Nico hung up, and Maki stared at her phone with a dumbfounded expression.

"You look confused. What happened?"

"I think my mom just forced me into going on a vacation."

So Hyun chuckled. "Never knew that Miss Nishikino was such a funny person."

Maki crossed her arms. "This is ridiculous. I haven't even gotten my first paycheck yet. Why would I need to go on a vacation 1 month into work?"

"Well, you'd be grateful for it soon enough."

The waitress walked over, bringing with her a bowl with a scoop of pink ice cream, along with a big bowl filled with 5 scoops of multicolored ice cream topped with whipped cream and strawberries. "Here's one scoop of rose flavour along with Miss Hyun's usual." The waitress winked at So Hyun and walked away.

"Do you know the waitress?"

"I'm a regular customer. All the staff members know me."

So Hyun smiled and started to devour her order with a fiery passion.

Maki hesitantly took a bite of her ice cream.

...

It was as if Maki had entered the world full of rose petals. The sweet ice cream combined with a hint of rose slowly dissipated on Maki's tongue leaving her wanting for more.

Maki started to devour her order full of rose petals as well.

So Hyun stretched her arms. "Well, that was delicious. I need to go home now, see you later Nishikino."

"Bye."

Maki stepped into her waiting car and dialed her mother's number.

"Hello?"

"Mom, we need to talk."

"What is it?"

"Did you actually agree to let my friends plan a trip to our vacation house?"

"...Yes."

"How could you? You know that everyone is going to get drunk and burn down our house, right?"

"That's why you're going! To keep them in check!"

"Mom, I'm a surgeon, not a zookeeper! I can't do that!"

"Well, I'm sure that you can manage. Come home soon so that you can start packing."

Maki hung up. "Mr. Takeshi please take me home."

Maki sat down on the floor in front her purple suitcase, untouched since she came back from America. "Now what?"

Maki decided that she would rather sleep than waste time picking outfits carefully, so she just stuffed the suitcase with a bunch of shorts and t-shirts. After putting in some swimsuits and towels, Maki went to bed.

This is ridiculous.

My spellcheck marked flavour as a wrong word, and I am so offended.