| Fan Fiction |
by bBsya-aJa
"Help out in the kitchens; the chefs need help with the dishes for lunch!"
"The guest rooms in the left wing need to be cleaned, Newbie!"
Shaohan gaped at the endless requests and tasks that seemed to be free falling into her lap. It had only been THREE hours that she had been hired and she was already expected to make the beds and mop the floors. True, she had taken a House Management Course two years ago because it had been offered at a local Community Centre but...
"New Maid, stop standing there with your mouth wide open!" The Head Housekeeper screeched. "Do what you're told to and I need you to make the beds in the guest rooms NOW!"
Shaohan set off at lightning speed, following an older maid, a woman in her forties whom had been working there for close to twenty years, to the left wing. Given instructions, she set about tidying the guest rooms with the silent senior maid supervising and helping to restock the bathroom necessities.
"Who stays here?" She wondered aloud.
"Sometimes the Young Masters, especially Master Jin."
"Does he not have his own room?"
"Yes but he prefers sleeping in the guest quarters when he returns from work late. It's nearer to the foyer and therefore easier for him to go to work every morning, instead of having to come down from his suite at the far east side."
'Just how many rooms does this house have?' Shaohan inwardly groaned at the prospect of having to scrub every corner of the whole mansion. 'Even if the Head Maid gives me a whole month, I don't think that's possible.'
"Shaohan, change the sheets while I go get more soap. I'll inspect the bed later on so be sure to do a proper job." The older maid warned gently as she slipped out of the room.
Sighing softly, she did as she was told. The door to the room clicked open and Shaohan made a last attempt at fluffing the pillows. "I hope I didn't do too bad a job." She bit down on her lower lip. "But the bed really was a mess. That Jin guy must be a restless sleeper."
"It's not bad." Came the reply. "And for future references, you will address me as MASTER Jin. My sleeping habits are also none of your concern."
Shaohan froze at the cool, calm voice. It was male and definitely not the other maid's. She whipped around, eyes wide.
"I..."
She stopped mid-word. If this was Master Jin then he was VERY handsome. He was about her age, a little older perhaps but certainly no more than twenty-three. Dressed in what seemed obvious to her as a very expensive business suit, minus the jacket, he also happened to be out of her league. Which might have accounted for the impatience in his eyes as he stared at her.
Shaohan closed her mouth and dropped her gaze. "Master."
He ignored her, eyes scanning around the room. "I was searching for my jacket; have you seen it?"
She faintly remembered hanging it somewhere but everything else had been pushed to the back of her mind when she had laid eyes on him. "I think it's... in the closet."
There was a moment of silence, during which both could hear the crickets chirping outside, happily singing for sunset. "Well?" He finally asked.
"Yes?"
"Aren't you going to get it?"
Shaohan bit down on her lip again. 'Stupid, STUPID girl!' She scolded herself.'Go get it for him; you're a maid now!' She felt her stiff legs walking over to the closet and pulling out the jacket she had so carefully hung just minutes ago. Walking back to him, she held out the jacket.
He turned away from her and finally, she realized that he wanted help with putting iton. Awkwardly holding out the jacket, she immediately let it go as soon as his hands pushed through the sleeves and he adjusted it himself. Turning back to her, he pulled out a black tie from his pocket and began to loop it around his neck.
"I'm guessing you're a new maid since you seem very unfamiliar with me or the surroundings." He started.
Shaohan, feeling that she might actually be receiving a scolding, quickly cut in. "Yes, but I've only been here three hours. You don't need to worry about my competence; I'm sure I'll adapt to my job really fast." She promised earnestly.
"Oh, I'm not worried." He confided airily. "It's YOU who should be concerned. If you can't do your job well, you'll lose it. Your dismissal will be of no loss to us. Please note that for every 10 people in Taiwan, at least 4 of them will be more than happy to take over your job. So be careful, New Maid. How's my tie?" He asked in English.
Shaohan, who had been lost in a daze over his words, snapped back to reality and glanced at the atrocious knot. "Very bad." She retorted, without thinking.
He merely raised an eyebrow, his slender fingers quickly undoing the tie. He sighed at the material dangling over his neck, and then glanced at her.
Beckoning her forward, he pointed at his neck. "Help me with my tie."
"Are you asking for my assistance now?" Shaohan mocked. "Am I competent enough for that, Master Jin?"
"The next time I tell you to HELP me, I won't be asking." He warned. "So don't make me repeat myself."
Involuntarily stepping forward and as further away from the man as she could manage, Shaohan expertly tied it perfectly around his neck, purposely pushing it a little further up than necessary. Jin coughed as his air supply hiccuped for a moment, and then glared at the insolent maid. Never one to back down, Shaohan returned his stare defiantly, both startling and angering him more.
The senior maid chose to return at that moment and seemed taken aback by his presence, even more so the close proximity at which Shaohan and Jin stood. What was more, they were glaring heatedly at each other; the hostility radiating off them until the hairs on the back of the older maid's neck stood.
"When you're finished cleaning the bed, please scrub the grime off the bathtub until it is SPARKLING." Master Jin ordered quietly, still staring at Shaohan. Then he looked up at the senior maid. "And teach your junior the CORRECT way of behaving around her employer, lest she wants to lose her job. And then what a pity it will be." He sneered softly at her before leaving the room.
The two maids worked in silence, cleaning the bathtub without so much as a word exchanged. At the end of it all, Shaohan's cheeks were still a slight pink and the older woman's troubled look had not disappeared. "Shaohan." The tone of her voice stopped Shaohan in her tracks. It was one she hadn't heard for many years; a motherly and gentle sound.
Shaohan turned to face her senior. "Yes?"
The woman seemed to hesitate. "Have you decided whether you will stay?" She finally asked.
Shaohan thought about it.
:Flashback:
"And then what a pity it will be." The way he stood so closely to her as if his every word was a challenge... she had caught a whiff of his cologne and decided she liked it, even if the person who used it was intolerably arrogant.
... She had done up his tie and her fingers had once brushed accidentally against his chin. She had wondered if he had felt anything; her fingers felt like a surge of electric enery had coursed through their veins.
:End of Flashback:
'Pros: The job pays well, and even to be just a maid here, must be considered one of the most glamourous jobs in all of Taiwan. Cons: Some of the people I work for might actually be jerks.' She hadn't met the other two Nan Feng Princes but she could only pray that they were more like Feng Cai instead of Feng Jin.
"Yes, I'm staying."
"Then you should know where you stand."
Shaohan felt slightly surprised by the woman's words. "You're a maid in the Nan House. Nothing more. You must learn how to handle yourself around the Masters; you cannot just shoot your mouth off without thinking of the consequences. If any of the Boss's other staff complain to the Head Maid, you will be punished, as will I."
She walked out of the room but just before she turned around the corner, she whispered over her shoulder. "One more thing; you shouldn't take Master Jin's words to heart. Its everyone's job to put pressure on a newbie to test her."
AS the woman left, Shaohan sank down to perch on the edge of the bathtub. 'So intense.' She thought. It felt like the woman had been thinking a lot ever since Jin's departure. So had Shaohan but she was certain that they weren't sharing the same thoughts. 'She looked like she wanted to say more, but stopped herself. Oh God, why must I have chosen such a strange place to work in? Even the maids here aren't sane...'
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A/N: Don't forget to review! ;)