This can't be real?!
Nayeon had been working in this industry since her freshman year of college. Now she was in her third year and she was still doing this job without any feeling of boredom. Indeed, at first she started this job as an impulsive action. However, she came to like this job as time went by.
The thing she loved most about this job was the satisfaction of seeing other people smile because of her. She felt like she was helping people with this job. Although she couldn't solve other people's problems just by pretending to be their girlfriend for a few hours, she could at least make them happy in the midst of their problems.
Maybe because she really loved this job, Nayeon always gave her best in every schedule she had and as a result she always ranked first in the Top 10 Agents on the rental girlfriend app she worked for. She always took pride in it and it motivated her to keep doing this job.
However, all that changed when one day she no longer found herself in first place. She saw a new agent take over her position and she was taken aback by it. It hurt her pride a little and she became curious about how she could be defeated by a new agent.
"She just became an agent 5 months ago?!" Nayeon grumbled while looking at her phone screen. "How could she get first place in such a short time? It took me a year to get first place!"
"Aww.. does this hurt your pride?" Jeongyeon said while wiping the glass in her hand. At that time, they were at the bar where Jeongyeon worked as a bartender.
"Shut up." Nayeon glared at Jeongyeon. "Shasha, huh?" She looked at the name of the agent who had just defeated her. An idea suddenly came to her mind and she then smirked.
"You must be thinking of a stupid idea." Jeongyeon shook her head. She had known Nayeon long enough to know all her weird habits.
"This is not a stupid idea. This is a very brilliant idea!" Nayeon replied before typing something on her phone.
"Then tell me what are you doing right now?" Jeongyeon raised her eyebrows and tried to peek at what Nayeon was doing.
"I just created a new account. I'm going to rent her as my girlfriend." Nayeon smiled widely before showing her phone screen to Jeongyeon. "Look! I've booked her for Saturday. I'll see how good she is as a girlfriend."
Jeongyeon just sighed and shook her head. She then went back to her work and acted as if she didn't hear anything Nayeon said.
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Sana was never nervous when doing her job. Meeting strangers and acting as if she had known them for a long time wasn't difficult for her. She did it all as easily as breathing in and out. She never had to think while doing it all.
She believed she had the talent to do this job. Every person who rented her always smiled at the end of their meeting and gave her 5 stars when they were no longer in her line of sight. She kept gaining confidence as she did this job and it peaked when she found herself in the first place in the Top 10 Agents. Sana felt like she was on top of the clouds when she found out about that.
However, Sana didn't stay above the clouds for long. Not long after she was in first place in Top 10 Agents, she found herself rented by someone she never expected. She recognized that person. She always saw that person's face every time she looked at the Top 10 Agents page. That person was the prettiest woman Sana found on that page and seeing her in person made Sana feel like she had fallen from the clouds. All her confidence just suddenly disappeared.
"I-Im Nayeon?" Sana stuttered. She had never been like this before.
"Oh yeah, that's me. You're Shasha, right?" Nayeon replied with a smile. That smile made Sana's heart melt. What is such a beautiful woman doing here?! Sana wondered.
"Y-yeah, I'm Shasha. N-nice to meet you!" Sana bowed to Nayeon. She had never done this before when she was playing the role of a rental girlfriend. Usually, she would just grab her clients' arms and call them by all the pet names she knew. This time, she acted like they weren't a couple and were just two strangers who had just met.
"Why are you so nervous?" Nayeon asked before holding out her hand. "Aren't you my girlfriend? We're not strangers, babe." She chuckled.
"O-oh right.." Sana grabbed Nayeon's hand and held it tightly. "L-let's go?"
"Sure." Nayeon smiled widely before pulling Sana's hand and leading her to a cafe not far from where they were.
Sana didn't realize when their roles had been reversed. Sana should have been the one taking more initiative and leading their date. However, Nayeon acted as if she was the rental girlfriend and Sana was the client. Sana didn't complain about it. She was actually happy to be treated like a girlfriend by Nayeon.
Now I understand why people go crazy over this kind of service, Sana thought.
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"So.. there's one question I've been meaning to ask you," Sana said, sitting across from Nayeon. She was still nervous, but she no longer stuttered when talking to Nayeon. She felt more comfortable with her.
"What is it?" Nayeon asked before taking a spoonful of cake and stuffing it into her mouth.
"You're.. Yuri, right?" Sana referred to the alias Nayeon used as a girlfriend-for-hire agent.
"Ah, so you recognize me then." Nayeon nodded slowly. "Do you often look at the Top 10 Agents page too?" She grinned.
Sana laughed nervously. "Yeah.. and I know you used to be in first place."
"Used to be.." Nayeon's mouth felt a little bitter as she said that. She lowered her gaze and avoided Sana's face. She would be lying if she said her pride wasn't a little hurt when Sana said those words.
Sana just realized that she had said something wrong. She didn't mean to hurt Nayeon or brag about herself. She actually wanted to compliment her, but her nervousness got in the way. "I-I didn't mean to say that! W-what I meant was—"
“It’s okay, Shasha. You didn’t say anything wrong.” Nayeon smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “To be honest, I rented you today because I wanted to see how good you are as a rental girlfriend. I wanted to know how you could beat me.” She giggled, trying to lighten the mood.
“Oh..” Sana just realized that. She just realized that Nayeon had come to judge her. She became even more nervous. “S-so, what do you think? Do you think I deserve first place?” She didn’t dare to meet Nayeon’s eyes.
Nayeon put her chin between her thumb and index finger. She thought about what she should say to Sana. “You want me to be honest?”
Of course, Sana panicked after hearing that. She knew she didn’t perform well that day. She had been nervous ever since she met Nayeon and often stuttered when she spoke. She also rarely took the initiative and always let Nayeon lead their conversation. However, she still hoped that Nayeon wouldn’t think badly of her. “O-of course, I want you to be honest,” she said. This time, she looked Nayeon in the eye to give a good impression (although her hands were sweating while doing so).
"First of all, you're really cute," Nayeon said with a smile. "My heart skipped a beat when our eyes met for the first time. I finally understand why so many people are after you. I can see that your schedule is always almost full every week. I'm lucky to be able to book you today."
Sana's cheeks turned red after receiving that compliment. Although this wasn't the first time Sana was called cute, she couldn't stop smiling because of it. Maybe it was because Nayeon called her cute. "Thanks.." she said softly while lowering her head.
“But..” Nayeon averted her gaze because she knew she was going to say something unpleasant. Sana’s heart dropped after that. “I think there are still some things you need to improve on.”
Nayeon grabbed Sana's hand that was on the table and squeezed it gently. Sana lifted her head because she was surprised that Nayeon did that. She found Nayeon smiling from ear to ear. How beautiful that smile is, Sana thought.
"You're often nervous and rarely take the initiative. You don't even flirt with me at all. Do you realize that?" Nayeon raised an eyebrow and smirked.
"Well.. that's because I'm dealing with a pretty woman like you," Sana replied in a low voice. Nayeon heard that.
"There you are!" Nayeon pointed at Sana and Sana flinched at that. "You should say things like that to your clients. They love it when you flirt with them."
Sana chuckled. Nayeon really thought that Sana still didn't know much about the work they were doing. She didn't know that Sana was actually good at flirting. Everyone always had a mini heart attack because of her flirting.
"I see," Sana said with a smile. She had no intention of telling Nayeon the truth. Nayeon seemed happy when she gave her advice and she didn't want to take away that joy.
"You should be more confident, Shasha. You're pretty, cute, and I can see that you're a nice person. Everyone would kneel before you if you were a little more confident." Nayeon giggled.
"Everyone? Does that include you?" Sana's confidence slowly returned.
"Oh wow." Nayeon was taken aback. "I didn't expect you to follow my advice this quickly."
"Well, I want to maintain my position in the Top 10 Agents. So, I have to follow your advice well." Sana smirked.
Nayeon gasped. She put both of her hands on her chest and acted as if she was offended. "Are you challenging me?"
"Maybe.." Sana looked away from Nayeon in a teasing manner. "Do you have any other advice, sunbaenim?" She looked back at Nayeon and smiled.
Nayeon rolled her eyes. “Why should I give you any other advice if you’re going to challenge me?” She pouted and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
Oh my god, she’s so cute, Sana thought. She wanted to pinch Nayeon’s cheeks right then, but she had to follow the rules of their company. She wasn’t allowed to have any physical contact other than holding hands and arms with clients.
"Because I'm a newbie? You've been doing this job for 2 years. Isn't it unfair for me to fight against you?" Sana gave her puppy eyes.
Nayeon sighed, "You're lucky you're cute."
The rest of the date was spent chatting in that cafe and shopping at a department store not far from that cafe. Nayeon led their date as a form of teaching Sana and Sana accepted it all happily.
When their date ended, Sana got the lowest rating she had ever gotten while working as a rental girlfriend. However, she felt happy and couldn't stop smiling at the rating.
imny95:
★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
I was like her rental girlfriend, not the other way around..