Chapter Text
Miorine nearly throws down her satchel in sheer frustration. She’s practically soaked to the bone. Her Prada leather pumps aren’t faring too well either. The businesswoman simply wanted to take the train home but underestimated the weather forecast this afternoon. She blames herself for not having a good sense to bring her own umbrella. So much for getting praised by several departments when it comes to risk management.
She hides her satchel inside her blazer and pray it can keep her documents dry. The rain does not let up, giving Miorine a hard time running or as much as her pumps let her powerwalk.
She almost pops a vein when a car drove terrifyingly close to the sidewalk and, splashes water and dirt on her.
“Asshole!” She shouts amidst the strong wind and rain.
Finally, she sees the familiar guard of her flat, Ludwig. Upon recognizing her, he immediately escorts her inside the building, sheltering her with his umbrella. The establishment is quite new, a 4 story apartment complex made with materials of white and gray stone to capture a minimalist palette.
“Ms. Miorine, you should have taken a cab or drove your car. Look at you.” He says, gesturing to Miorine as a whole. As if she isn’t annoyed enough.
“Thanks.” She says and nothing else lest she blurts out something less than polite.
Her flat is on the third floor and she dreads the thought of the whole trek up. She chose to live at the upper floor in lieu of getting a bit of exercise before and after work. Though it seems at this time, she is regretting her decision. The squeaking sound from her feet on the wet pumps as she walks up almost makes her sick. Water trickles at her path, she’d feel remorseful if she isn’t feeling miserable at the moment.
The apartment next to hers has its door open and a tall woman just outside is screwing the door knob in place. The tools on her belt jingles when she stood to inspect her work.
She’s hot, Miorine thinks. The muscles of her back are outlined in great detail by the white shirt she wears. Probably sensing Miorine’s eyes on her, she turns her head and sees Miorine’s pathetic state of dishabille. The woman says nothing, and only offers her a sympathetic smile.
Miorine walks swiftly to her apartment, the heat of humiliation creeping. After entering, she sets aside her ruined shoes. She takes off her satchel placing it on the dining table, beside all the boxes of takeout she ordered for the past two weeks.
She pulls off her clothes, grimacing at the ruined state her blazer is in and the sogginess of her undergarments. The rain really did a number on her when it seeped through her clothes. Miorine heads straight to the shower, turns the knob and…
Screamed as loud as her lungs can. It might’ve came out as an overreaction but she did not expect the ice cold water. She steps out of the shower, every step freezing the sole of her feet until she hops on the carpet and puts on her slippers.
She secures the towel at her front and with effort, hauls herself to the dining area to retrieve her phone. Miorine isn’t one to act out but today in particular has her stressed. She’s about to send a strongly worded message to the management about her shitty shower heater when she remembers the woman. The woman is probably part of the maintenance crew of this building.
Making up her mind she marches right out of her apartment to find the handywoman. Fortunately, the red head is cleaning up the dirt on the doorstep.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?” the woman turns to her. But at the sight of her, she averted her gaze and looks at anything but Miorine. “H-How m-may I-I hel-p y-you?”
“I’ve got a job for you.” This is starting to sound like something out of a bad pornography. “My heater’s broken and I can’t-“
Miorine stops for a moment and stares at her, “What’s wrong? Why aren’t you looking at me? Do you think this is funny? Look I’ve had a crap time going home and I really need a warm shower.”
The handywoman faces her but with her hand covering her eyes, “Oh-Okay, I understand. He-Heater’s n-not wo-working. I'll he-help.”
She stuck out her hip and puts her hands on it, “If you’re done fixing that door then maybe you can move on to my room.”
Her towel falls off and it was only now that she noticed that she didn’t have anything on other than that. The woman still has her eyes covered but she still let out a scream.