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'Jae Vee'[1] , or Veetara, was the owner of a famous English language institute near Wongwian Yai. The business had been running for four years now, with an initial investment pooled together with two female friends. One of them was Akin, short for 'Anakin Skywalker,' a name given by her die-hard Star Wars fan father. Initially, she almost got the full name Anakin, but her mother rallied the relatives to protest at home, forcing her father to shorten it to just 'Akin.'

However, Akin now preferredeveryone to call her 'Kinny' because it suited her appearance afterundergoing some cosmetic enhancements. Veetara agreed and ordered announcementsto be posted everywhere, from the reception counter to the student handouts, stating that their beloved Jae Kin now had a two-syllable name, Kinny, so please call her correctly. Anyone who didn't would be fined five baht each time (a punishment for staff and Aunty Aeow, who sold pickled fruits in front of the institute building) and would be denied the sour candies that they gave out during class breaks (a punishment for students).

The response was positive.

The communal fund had surged past two thousand baht, and the sour candies were so plentiful that there was no need to restock. Of course, no one intended to mock or disrespect Kinny's wishes and decisions; they just weren't used to the new name and slipped up out of habit.

Even though Kinnyunderstood the reason, she couldn't help but sulk for a week, except for 'Salee,'who managed to avoid the sulking by using other terms while waiting to get usedto the new name. For example, 'My beautiful Jae, could you sign thisdocument for me?' or 'Jae Vee's friend, Jae Vee is calling youto her office.'  Because of this, Kinny had a special fondness for Salee, appreciating her sweet talk, quick wit, and flattering nature.

This situation made Salee Kinny's favorite, meaning she had a shield to hide behind whenever Veetara yelled at her. Salee had been battling the beautiful institute owner alone for the past year with no help because everyone in the office agreed that 'Salee deserves it!'

"Don't play dumb, Salee!" Veetara shouted. "Give me back my pen right now!"

"No," the young girl shook her head vigorously. "You gave it to me."

"When did I ever give it to you?!"

Hearing this, Salee began to recount the event in detail: yesterday, when she brought the documents for approval, Veetara returned them with the pen Salee picked up from Veetara's desk. To Salee, this meant Veetara had willingly given her that pen to add to her collection.

"You little...!!!"

The younger girl grinned as Veetara looked like an angry demon but still managed to look stunningly beautiful and bouncy with every breath.

Okay, you know what?

Jae Vee is indeed stunningly beautiful and sexy—like, really.

She's flawless from head to toe.

Today, Veetara wore a fitted work dress with long sleeves and a knee-length skirt, showing off her perfect figure. Her long hair was dyed ash-brown with slight waves, her skin was so fair it almost reflected light, and she wore red lipstick and nail polish, her body curvy. Her overall appearance was soft and cushiony, like a sofa pillow.

Veetara was twenty-eight years old, with a youthful face, firm cheeks, no crow's feet, sharp eyes, and a beautiful smile that she rarely showed because she no longer taught students herself. She didn't see the need to look kind, especially to someone who constantly teased and tricked her into raising her voice daily. Veetara was very meticulous, wanting everything to go her way, with a precise daily schedule that no one could disrupt.

Her life was like this until Salee applied to be an English teacher at the institute.

"Call me Jae Vee,not Jae[2] Vee," was the first thing Veetara lectured Salee on the day she stepped into the building.

She didn't like beingcalled 'Jae' because it made her feel older. Calling her Jae waslike calling the owner of a gold shop in Yaowarat or Jae Kiewfrom Nakkrarachai Air, the bus transportation company. In contrast, 'Jae' (witha lower tone) gave a sense of being an older sister, kind and gentle (?).Usually, Veetara's younger brother, Salee's ex-boyfriend, called her 'Jae-jae,'so she wasn't used to Jae and couldn't help but correct anyonewho mispronounced it, saying, 'It's Jae, not Jae,' everytime someone got it wrong.

Salee pronounced it correctly from the start because she'd heard how Best called his big sister so many times. This was the only thing out of a billion things that Salee never upset Veetara with.

As for other matters...

"Just give her the pen," Kinny, who'd witnessed the entire event, said as she walked back into the office after teaching an intensive class to kids preparing for exams. Salee quickly hid behind her, but Veetara wouldn't relent, insisting on getting her pen back until Salee had to agree with Kinny.

"That's right, it's just one pen."

"One pen, my foot!" The beautiful woman retorted, pointing to Salle's desk, where a container full of blue Faber-Castell pens, her favorite pen brand, was bundled together.

"I-I bought those myself..."

This time, the two Jaes shouted in unison at Salee.

"Liar!"

Initially, Veetara didn't know that Salee had dated Best until he called her, pleading with her to hire Salee because (1) her brother wanted to make amends and get back together with his ex after breaking up three times since high school, and (2) Salee was talented and needed. Not only did she have excellent academic records, but she was also a great teacher, friendly, and got along well with kids. She had four years of tutoring experience during university, so she didn't need to start from scratch.

Salee was twenty-three. She had a sweet, pretty face and light brown shoulder-length hair with bangs, usually tied half-up, that made her look like a cute little girl.

But that was just an illusion.

In reality, she was a maniac!

Veetara wasn't sure if Salee's brain was normal because instead of being scared of her like everyone else in the office, Salee would approach her, smile sweetly, and flatter her for about ten minutes before sneaking off with her small items to add to her collection on her desk. From small erasers to large staplers, whenever Veetara tried to reclaim her items, Salee would come up with various excuses. Now, she'd only managed to get a few things back, and whenever she planned to take them back openly, Salee seemed to know and kept them in her bag, bringing them with her even to the bathroom.

But this was minor compared to Salee's obsession with her.

"Love you, my Jae!" Salee shouted through a new megaphone she bought for teaching.

On the first day, this Little Trouble claimed she was just testing it before using it in class, but on the second, third, fourth, fifth... two hundred and nineteenth, she was still testing it. Some days, it wasn't just 'love you, my Jae!' but also special occasion messages like:

"Merry Christmas, beautiful! Your gift is on your desk!"

"Happy New Year! Your heart is all I need for a bonus!"

"Today is Children's Day! I'm still a kid. If you love kids, that means you love me too!"

"Happy early Songkran! I bought scented water to pour on your chest as a sign of my worship. Call me when you're ready!"

"I want to go Loy Krathong with you, beautiful! Woohoo!"

The girl was so annoying!

Veetara wanted to throw something at the person who stood behind the door daily, waiting to shout through the megaphone at her, but she never got the chance because Salee was quick as a monkey on a rocket. After shouting, she'd use her smaller size to dodge and run out, leaving Veetara to shout, "Salee!!!" after her every time.

Recently, she heard thatSalee was making extra money by shouting messages for the cleaning lady whowanted to request funds for toilet paper after failing to get it from thefinance department.

"Khun Jae[3], I love you so much! But today, Aunty Oun asked me totell you that we're out of tissue paper, and P' Karn[4] won't let her take the company money to buy more!"

(This message cost twenty baht, which Aunty Oun and her group paid, each contributing five baht.)

Veetara heard this and felt like knocking Little Trouble's head, but she couldn't catch her. She gave her own money to Aunty Oun because she didn't want to deal with the stingy finance department. This made her grumpy all day, wondering why the tissue paper ran out so quickly when they'd just restocked recently. It wasn't until Salee popped into her private office after the students had gone home that Veetara couldn't help but ask about the situation. It seemed like Salee knew everything happening around the place as if she owned it.

I'm not sure if she's just nosy or genuinely curious.

"I'll tell you, butyou have to let me hug you for thirty seconds first."

"No way!"

"Then I'm leaving. Good evening!" Salee gave her a wai like a primary school kid did, with her knees bending and left, making Veetara call out with a frown.

"Wait," Veetara frowned at the younger girl, who was smirking. "Fine, but tell me first. I don't want you playing tricks."

"Oh, my Jae, I'm not that kind of person."

"Yeah, right!" Veetara stood up, about to knock on Salee's forehead with her fist, but Salee didn't dodge. She just smiled, making Veetara pull her hand back in frustration. "Spit it out already."

The cheeky girl hesitated for a few seconds before revealing that the finance department had cut the housekeeping budget, forcing them to buy cheaper tissue paper. "It's so thin that just a little bit of water makes it disintegrate. So, we have to use a lot of it because it's soooo thin."

"Oh," Veetara nodded, understanding the problem she hadn't noticed before because she always carried her own tissue and wet wipes.

"I'll talk to Karn about it. In the meantime, tell everyone to bring their own tissue."

Salee nodded. As Veetara moved away from her desk to fulfill the younger girl's request, Salee made her nervous again with a mischievous smile.

Veetara always thought Salee acted like a fan girl because she was a mischievous kid, probably wanting to tease her as the sister of her ex-boyfriend. But lately, she wasn't so sure. Sometimes, Salee didn't seem like she was just playing around. For instance, she'd suddenly smile sweetly, more to herself than at Veetara, and quickly look away, even though she usually never backed down from anything, including the staring contest at the New Year's party.

Veetara cleared her throat, pushing away her overthinking. She opened her arms slightly, letting Salee do what she'd asked. Salee stepped closer, looking up at her without saying anything, making Veetara start the conversation.

"Hurry up, I need to go home!"

"Can I save it up for later?"

"Save it up?"

"Thirty seconds is too short. Let me save it up until it's ten minutes, and then you can let me hug you all at once."

"You little trouble!" This time, Veetara knocked on Salee's forehead. "If you're going to be difficult, forget it. You're such an annoying kid!"

"Wait," Salee grabbed Veetara's shirt. "Thirty seconds is fine." She mumbled to herself, and Veetara didn't know why thirty seconds felt like three hours. She stood still, letting the annoying girl who liked to use a megaphone to teach students (instead of a mic) wrap her arms loosely around her waist. Salee's sweet face, which charmed everyone from Aunty Aeow who sold pickled fruits to Aunty Oun and her group, rested against her chest.

Veetara stood there until Salee let go and left the room five minutes ago. She still stood there, feeling dizzy and afraid to move quickly as she might faint.

What did that girl just do to me?

Did she really hug me?

Hmm, and I allowed her to do so, too.

Veetara took a deep breath, regaining her composure. She reasoned that she allowed Salee to do something silly because it was the easiest way out. Since Salee asked for a hug, she gave it in exchange for information about the tissue paper. It was just a simple transaction...

Veetara nodded to herself, satisfied with her reasoning.

She turned to pack her things, ready to go home like everyone else in the office. But then she noticed something odd on her desk.

The new pen she bought yesterday was missing.

...

That Little Trouble...!!

"Saleeeeeee!" Veetara shouted in heroffice, but alas, no one was there to hear her, not even Aunty Oun and hergroup.

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[1] Jae is a term used to address older women,specifically those older than the speaker. We'll place the name after it, soit'll be Jae Vee, Jae Kinny, etc.

[2] "Jae" in italics here represents เจ๊, pronounced with a higher tone. Some people perceive เจ๊ as having negative connotations.

[3] Khun Jae (คุณเจ้) is how Saleerefers to Vee.

[4] P' (พี่) is a Thai term usedin front of a name to address someone who is older. It literally means 'bigbrother' or 'big sister.'