×Lazy To Meet×
Staylie stepped into the lobby of the Atma Start Hotel.
She walked casually as usual, radiating a positive aura thanks to a subtle change in her makeup.
What was once overdone and too flashy—Staylie now shifted to a more natural look.
She started with her mandatory sunscreen, followed by a light application of matte powder, and then a soft peach lipstick.
“Good morning, Miss Staylie,” greeted a hotel staff member—we’ll call her Jumi.
“Morning!” she replied cheerfully.
“You look gorgeous, Ma’am,” chimed in another staff member.
“Of course! It’s me, Staylie,” she said, winking playfully.
Click. Clack.
“Uh-oh… it’s that guy again,” she muttered, almost bumping into the one person she didn’t want to see at the hotel.
Her instinct kicked in—avoid eye contact at all cost, even accidentally.
Staylie quickly turned around and tried to sneak away from the VIP guest’s line of sight.
But Karel had already noticed her.
Swiftly, he started following behind.
“I know it’s you, Miss Staylie—the proud SPV of Atma Start Hotel,” he said, still walking.
Wait—how did this guy know her name?? Staylie was sure she’d never told him.
She didn’t stop walking. Didn’t even glance his way. Just pretended she didn’t hear a thing.
“Miss Staylie,” Karel called out again, closing the distance between them.
And then—
Tap!
He gently grabbed her wrist.
“Ah!” Staylie let out a small squeal and immediately shut her eyes, unable to look directly into the eyes of the VIP guest.
“Miss, don’t be afraid. Come on, we’re both just humans on Earth,” Karel said, trying to sound reassuring.
Slowly, Staylie opened her eyes and looked up at him.
“Uhm… y-yes, sir? Did you need something?” she asked, forcing a smile—but her lips had gone oddly dry all of a sudden.
What’s going on? she thought, internally panicking.
The more she tried to smile, the more awkward and stiff her lips became.
Using frantic hand gestures, she tried to apologize—indicating she couldn’t stay long.
Her hands moved as if playing charades:
First, she lightly tapped her chest.
Then quickly covered her mouth.
Next, she waved her hand sideways as if to say “I can’t speak.”
Lastly, she pressed her palms together, bowing slightly in a gesture of apology.
Without giving him a chance to reply, Staylie rushed off toward the staff restroom and changing room.
“Uhh… Miss Staylie? Where are you going?” Karel called after her, watching her dash off with half her face hidden behind her handbag.
He had no idea what had just happened.
Karel, who still had a mountain of work waiting at the project site, left the hotel and headed to the car that had come to pick him up.
Thud!
The bathroom door shut behind Staylie.
Her cheeks burned with embarrassment as she looked into the mirror above the sink, trying to figure out why her lips had suddenly dried up like that.
Flashback—A few hours earlier...
“Kak Lana?” Staylie called as she entered her stepsister’s bedroom.
She looked around but didn’t see Lana anywhere.
Just as she turned to leave, her eyes fell on something on the dressing table.
Her eyes lit up.
“Oh my gosh, peach lipstick,” she whispered, picking it up and examining the tube front and back.
“This is perfect—I’ve been looking for a fresh color like this!” she said, her lips curling into a sly smile. “I’ll just borrow this. I’m sure she won’t mind.”
Without a second thought, Staylie walked out of the room with the lipstick in hand.
Back to present—
“Ugh! Of course! This is all because of Lana’s lipstick!” she yelled in frustration.
This had to be instant karma for taking something that wasn’t hers without asking.
Frantically, Staylie wiped off the lipstick she had applied so carefully that morning.
Her attempt to look naturally elegant had completely backfired.
She reapplied her usual bold red lipstick—her trusted go-to shade.
She didn’t care if people thought it was too much or too flashy. Anything was better than what just happened.
---
#+++++#
Afternoon arrived faster than expected.
It felt like just moments ago Staylie had been sipping coffee in the hotel’s café and chatting with some of the staff.
Now, it was already 5:30 p.m.—time for her to head home.
“Miss Nora, I’m heading out now,” she said, waving goodbye to the newly arrived receptionist on the evening shift.
“Okay, Ma’am. Safe travels,” Nora replied, waving back.
Thud!
So focused on rummaging through her handbag, Staylie didn’t see someone walking her way—and bumped into them.
She nearly lost her balance.
Grab!
The person she collided with reached out and caught her, steadying her by the waist.
“Are you okay, Miss?” he asked.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
Their eyes met.
“Wait—Sir?”
“Wait—Miss Staylie?”
They said it at the same time, pointing vaguely at each other in confusion.
Ugh. Not again.
Of all people to bump into—it had to be him again.
She forced another awkward smile, just like that morning.
“Good evening, Mr… Ujang Mandadang. Hehe,” she blurted out.
Blurb!
Karel chuckled, covering his mouth with a hand.
Staylie had no idea why he was laughing. All she could do was flash her perfectly aligned, pearly white teeth in return.
Ahem. Karel cleared his throat.
“So, heading home already, Miss?”
She nodded once.
“Why do you ask, Sir?”
Karel hesitated for a second but then spoke up.
“Well… do you have a few minutes? I was wondering if we could talk briefly. In the hotel restaurant?”
Staylie nodded again. “Sure, I have about ten minutes. My driver, Jamal, is picking me up soon.”
Karel nodded in return, and Staylie led the way.
They arrived at the hotel’s restaurant after a short walk—left from the lobby, down a long hallway, and through the back garden.
The restaurant was separate from the main building.
They sat at a table in the outdoor corner of the restaurant, facing each other.
“So… what is it you wanted to talk about, Sir?” Staylie asked as soon as they sat down.
“I want you to be my room’s cleaning assistant while I stay here at the hotel,” Karel replied immediately.
“Would you?”
What the hell?! Staylie screamed inside her head. Has this guy completely lost it?
“I’m sorry, Sir… what do you mean?” she played dumb.
“I want you to be the one cleaning my hotel room while I stay here. Can you do that?” Karel said again without skipping a beat.
SLAM!
Staylie shot up from her chair and banged the table.
---
#+++++#
POV: Lana
Lana hummed quietly as she cleaned her room.
She was sorting through her things—deciding what to keep and what to throw away.
Items she no longer needed were placed into separate trash bags based on type.
“This music box… yeah, I don’t need this anymore,” she mumbled, examining the item.
Plop!
Into the trash bag it went.
After a while, she moved on to her vanity.
She inspected each item, checking expiration dates on her cosmetics.
“This peach lipstick’s expired,” she said, separating it from the rest.
Just as she was about to throw it away, her phone buzzed.
A call.
Lana reached into her jogger pocket and answered.
“Hey, Kaluna?” she said as she walked out of her room.
---
Twenty minutes later, after a conversation full of laughs (as always with Kaluna), Lana returned to her room.
“Kaluna… seriously, you always crack me up,” she said, shaking her head.
She was about to resume cleaning when she remembered the peach lipstick she’d set aside.
But when she looked for it—it was gone.
“Huh? Where’d it go?” she asked, scanning the room.
She checked her vanity and the floor, but it was nowhere to be found.
After a few more minutes of searching, she gave up.
“Probably fell somewhere I can’t see,” she sighed, letting it go.
---
That night, Lana couldn’t sleep.
Too much caffeine from the coffee earlier.
Bored, she decided to check the security camera recordings in her room and hallway—just for fun.
She scrolled through the footage from the past month, watching carefully.
Mostly normal—just Jamal or Mbok Ajeng coming in to tidy up or change sheets.
“Wait a sec,” Lana narrowed her eyes.
On that morning’s footage, she spotted her stepsister, Staylie.
Staylie was seen knocking on Lana’s door before entering.
She paced a bit as if looking for Lana, then turned toward the vanity.
Lana leaned in closer.
She saw Staylie pick something up, inspecting it in her hands.
Lana immediately recognized what it was.
“Busted! So you took my peach lipstick, huh, Sis?” she chuckled.
Shaking her head, she couldn’t believe the lipstick had ended up in Staylie’s hands.