Small Pumpkin

Lim thought that if Miya saw the written conditions that he put inside that thick envelope first, she would change her mind. So, he took out another brown envelope that was thinner than the previous one. 

Inside, there was an ATM card of $3,000 including the small notes about its passcode. 

He handed Miya the thinner envelope to be opened at first. 

Now, both envelopes were on the table. 

Lim and Miya seemed to be in a chess match. They look at each other and look back at the envelopes. 

Lim decided to make a move, he pushed the thin envelope closer to Miya. His mind was so simple, let Miya see the money first, so she would accept all the conditions he made.

But Miya's eyes were drawn to the thick one because she thought that the thick envelope was the one with money inside. But why he seems like forcing the thin envelope at first?

Miya thought, "Seems like, he wanna make sure that I sign the contract first before giving me the money. But what if after I have signed the contract, it turns out to be a prank? Is it possible that he put monopoly money in that thick envelope? Yea, $10,000 per month and $3,000 in advance were too much for a helper. Nobody sane will make such an offer."

She was busy with her thoughts, until unconsciously, she swears, "Foxy…" 

UPS! 

Afraid that Lim probably heard what she said, she tried to change the subject. 

Unfortunately, Lim heard the 'foxy' word clearly. It reminded him about how Miya nicknamed him as the Little Brat Hiding Woods during her beauty bath session. To hold back his smile, he tried to make fun of her, "Fox? Do I look like one of the characters in Little Red Riding Hood to you?"

Miya was startled, she thought, "How come he mention Little Red Riding Hood? Does he— Ah, impossible! Besides, he said 'Little Red Riding Hood', not 'Little Brat Hiding Woods'. Maybe, by any chance, he just loves— WAIT…" 

She was curiously asked, "Boss, there is no fox in Little Red Riding Hood. It's a wolf! A wolf, not a fox. Even they have a different color. Have you ever read any bedtime stories with your parents? Seriously…" 

Lim petrified, "I'm an orphan. I have had no one since 10 years old." 

Miya felt guilty for taking other people's life problems for granted, while she herself would be very sad when there was something that reminded her of her parents. 

But she didn't have any clues about the fact that Lim was an orphan, just like her. 

At first, she thought that Lim's family might be doing business overseas. 

That's why he had no one with him. 

"Sorry to hear that—" Miya tried to comfort him, "I'm an orphan, as well. There's nothing wrong with that. Let's just say that each of us has been trained by the universe to live in the different types of water, right? Just like the fish. Saltwater fish... Freshwater fish... We all have to overcome life's obstacles on our own. Some live in fast-flowing water, and they had to swim upstream only to die like salmon. Some have to live in the deep sea, facing the extreme high pressures that make them ugly and weird like blobfish. Some have to live in a total darkness, but they could make their own light, like the anglerfish. Some have to evolve, finding a way to live in a frozen environment. Some of the others need to live in the mud, to hibernate when there's no water they can swim in—" 

"Are we playing a game about who's more miserable, in here?" 

"Sorry, Boss." 

"Do you think I'm so pathetic for never having a single day to read bedtime stories with my parents? You know the Indonesian folktale called Bawang Merah & Bawang Putih (Shallot and Garlic)?"

Miya shook her head. 

"See… You know nothing but so talkative." 

"What is the story talks about?" 

"Bawang Merah and Bawang Putih were two step-sisters. Both of them were so different. 

Bawang Merah was a lazy, greedy, and mean girl. Because she was always being spoiled by their mother. Polar opposite to Bawang Merah, Bawang Putih was a worker bee, generous and very kind, even when she never got her mother's affection. One day, Bawang Putih was washing her mother's clothes in the river. Unfortunately, she lost a scarf. She was running along the river to get back her mother's scarf. Suddenly, there was an old woman who took the scarf away with her. She told Bawang Putih that she would return the scarf if Bawang Putih helped her to cook and clean up her house. Bawang Putih did as she was told. The old woman kept her promise to give back the scarf. Moreover, because Bawang Putih was so generous, the old woman granted her a gift. Bawang Putih had to choose between two pumpkins, a small or a large one. Bawang Putih chose the smaller pumpkin. For it was more than enough for her. At home, as she opened up the pumpkin, she found a bunch of jewelry inside the pumpkin. Seeing all of that, Bawang Merah and their mother became jealous. Greedily, they wanted a magical pumpkin filled with jewelry too. So, they went to the river and intentionally let a scarf washed away. They pretended to follow the scarf until they met the old woman. Soon after they met the old woman, they asked for a pumpkin even without giving a helping hand at first. Everyone could guess! Yes, they took a big pumpkin. As they were home, they were so excited to open up their pumpkin. But instead of jewelry, their large pumpkin turned out to be filled with snakes. They were scared to death. And after that—"

Lim has a sudden realization to stop telling a long… long story to Miya. 

He thought of why he talked this much to her?

"Wait! Why should I tell you all of that?" 

Miya tried her best to hold back her laughter and turned it up into a big smile. 

DEG! 

Lim jerked up as if he got a sudden attack. Miya's smile was undoubtedly beautiful in close range. It was as beautiful as the cherry blossoms that were falling in slow motion. 

"It's a beautiful story, tho," said her. 

"Yea… Beautiful—" Lim's eyes were on Miya when he said so. 

Lucky him! Miya did not pay much attention to him. Her eyes focused on the two envelopes on the table. "So, do I need to pick the thinner envelope? Just like Bawang Putih chooses the small pumpkin?" 

"OF COURSE!" Lim was overreacted. "You will be considered as greedy if you choose the big pumpkin. If it's me, I will always choose the small pumpkin! I mean, you have to take this envelope first." Lim handed the thin brown envelope to Miya. 

She took it. 

And she was startled when she took out the ATM card, "WHOA! Seriously! Seems like, the smallest present granted the best thing! Hahahaha…" 

"I've told you!" 

"Is there money on it, Boss?" 

"$3,000 sharp! I don't have your bank account number. So, I just put the money there. Later on, your salary will be transferred directly into your account. And you have to hand over that card to me. That's mine." 

Miya was so happy. 

She was about to take a small three-times folded paper out of the envelope in her hand. 

In double-quick, Lim took the envelope and ATM from Miya. 

"That was the passcode. You can see them later after we make the deal!" 

As Lim told her about the deal, Miya's eyes instantly spotted the thick brown envelope on the table. "So, it means, that one was—" 

"99 Coexistence Treatises!" 

DANG! 

Miya saw the envelope and Lim's flat face in turn as if both of them were the spookiest things she had ever encountered. 

"99?! Should I read all of that now?" 

"If you don't mind, you can just sign it." 

"Big Nay Nay! Who knows, it may be a scheme of an online personal loan agreement with high interest. Remember, as I am a stranger to you, you are a stranger to me, as well. As you said, we cannot open our door to a stranger." 

"Do you even have any doors to be opened? Just in case you forget, you're living in my house. And one of my doors was fully open because you destroyed it last night." 

Lim brought out this matter on purpose. 

It was strange, but he loved seeing Miya crying over the things she had broken just because she was afraid that she had to pay for them. It's not because Lim was happy over her misery. But his gut feeling told him that Miya's crying baby could be only seen when there was money involved. And her kind of expression was gold to Lim. 

But this time, Miya made his eyes rounded, not to cry like a baby. 

She glared at Lim. 

"WHAT?! If I didn't ruin your door, your life would be the one that probably ruined by now. Why so stingy…" 

Lim didn't want to lose, he really wanted to see Miya's crying baby expression face to face. 

During this time, he only saw it from the CCTV screen. 

"How about my broken golden glass? I saw its broken pieces inside the bin. You broke it for no reason, right? Do you know how much does it cost? It is the limited edition of Murano glassware. I bought that from Venice. Containing 24 carats of fine gold and using the rare-making technique called Tre Fuochi. It's $3,000 a set!" 

Miya's eyes were frozen open. The corners of her mouth turned down. 

Both of her eyebrows arched up in the middle. Her chin is quivering, almost crying.

"Really? $3,000?" 

Lim was happy enough to see that expression. "She's beautiful even with that expression," he thought. 

But from the deepest of his heart, actually, he didn't want her to cry. "It's OK, I won't mind it. But only for this time!" 

"Really?! Thank you, Boss! Actually, I think you are a very good person. You are so generous, like Bawang Putih." Miya was bowing her head to pay some respect to Lim. 

Her silly acts made his smile blossom secretly, trying to hide to not be caught by her. 

He had to maintain his pride and dignity in front of Miya.

"Just read and sign it! After that, this money is yours." 

SIGH! 

"Okey! Let's see!" 

Miya opened the thick brown envelope and took out about 60 pages of paper. 

She read the first page.

10 minutes later… 

She was still on the first page. 

She put the papers back on the table, giving up.