---
The morning of Rosie's first official day as "Personal Assistant to the CEOs" (a title that Nayeon had texted was "the gayest thing I've ever heard and I'm obsessed") started like every other morning in the penthouse: with Rosie making terrible decisions.
She'd spent approximately two hours getting ready, which was forty-five minutes longer than she'd ever spent on her appearance in her entire life. But this was different. This was her first day back at JJL since the Christmas Party Massacre. Everyone would be watching. Everyone would be judging. Everyone would be whispering about "the girl who kissed the CEOs."
She needed to look confident. Powerful. Like she belonged.
She'd settled on a fitted blazer, high-waisted trousers, and a silk camisole that showed exactly the right amount of collarbone. Her long hair was perfectly styled, her makeup was flawless, and she felt, for the first time in her life, like she might actually pull this off.
"Ready?" Lisa called from somewhere in the penthouse.
"Born ready!" Rosie called back, then immediately tripped over her own feet walking out the door.
The car was already waiting downstairs. Black. Luxury. The kind of vehicle that made other drivers respectfully keep their distance.
Jisoo held the door open, ushering her inside. "After you."
Rosie slid across the leather seat, trying to look graceful. She ended up sort of flopping, but she recovered quickly, smoothing her blazer like that had been intentional.
Jennie sat on her left. Jisoo climbed in after her, sitting on her right. Lisa took the front passenger seat, turning around to grin at them.
"Road trip!" Lisa announced.
"It's a fifteen-minute drive to work," Jennie pointed out.
"The best road trips are fifteen minutes long. Change my mind."
No one could change Lisa's mind. No one ever could.
The car pulled smoothly into traffic, and Rosie tried to focus on the view outside instead of the fact that she was sandwiched between two of the most beautiful women in existence. Jisoo's thigh was pressed against hers. Jennie's shoulder brushed hers every time the car turned. It was distracting. Very distracting. The kind of distracting that made it hard to remember basic things like "how to breathe."
"So," Jisoo said, turning to look at her, "are you nervous?"
"No!" Rosie said immediately. "Why would I be nervous? I'm not nervous. I'm the opposite of nervous. I'm calm. I'm serene. I'm a zen master of—"
The car screeched to a sudden halt.
Rosie lurched forward.
Then sideways.
Then her lips landed on something soft.
Jisoo's lips. Specifically. Because of course they did.
At the exact same moment, her hands—those traitorous appendages that had developed minds of their own—flung out to catch herself.
And landed squarely on Jennie's chest.
Both hands. Full contact. The kind of accidental groping that would haunt Rosie's dreams forever.
The car was silent.
Lisa turned around slowly, her eyes going wide. "Did she just—"
"Accidentally kissed me," Jisoo confirmed, her voice remarkably calm for someone who'd just been ambushed.
"And grabbed my—" Jennie looked down at Rosie's hands, still very much attached to her chest. "Rosie. Your hands."
"I know," Rosie whispered. "They're there. I'm aware. I've lost all control of them. They're just... living their own life now. Making choices. Bad choices. Very bad choices."
"Are you going to move them?" Jennie asked.
"I'm trying. They're not listening. I think they like it there."
Jisoo burst out laughing. Lisa followed a second later, her cackle filling the car. Even Jennie's lips twitched, though she maintained her cool composure remarkably well for someone being actively groped.
"The driver," Rosie managed, finally retracting her hands like they'd been burned. "The driver just watched that happen."
"Our drivers are trained for discretion," Jennie assured her.
"Trained for WHAT? What situations require discretion training that includes THIS?"
"You'd be surprised," Jisoo murmured, and the look in her eyes made Rosie's face burn.
"I'm so sorry," Rosie babbled. "I'm so, so sorry. The car stopped. I fell. It was physics. Newton's laws. For every action there's an equal and opposite reaction. The reaction was my face on your mouth and my hands on her—on Jennie's—on the chest area."
"Newton would be proud," Lisa snorted.
"Newton would be MORTIFIED, just like me."
The car started moving again, and Rosie spent the remaining ten minutes of the drive staring fixedly out the window, refusing to make eye contact with anyone.
She could feel them watching her. Smiling. Probably planning ways to use this against her forever.
---
JJL Tower loomed before them, all glass and steel and corporate intimidation. Rosie had walked through these doors hundreds of times as a lowly accounting employee. This time, she walked through as... whatever she was now.
The moment she entered the lobby, she felt it. Eyes. Everywhere. Watching her. Judging her. Whispering behind hands and cubicle walls.
"That's her."
"The one from the party."
"She kissed ALL of them?"
"I heard she's living with them now."
"Living WITH them? Like... WITH them with them?"
Rosie's confident stride faltered. She could feel the weight of their stares, the heat of their gossip. This was going to be harder than she thought.
Lisa's hand found hers, squeezing gently. "Ignore them. They're just jealous they don't have your chaos energy."
"Chaos energy isn't a compliment."
"It is from me."
Jennie appeared on her other side. "Walk with us. Head high. You belong here."
"You're literally paying me to be here. That's the opposite of belonging."
"We're paying you to exist near us. There's a difference."
Jisoo brought up the rear, her presence like a shield. Together, the four of them walked through the lobby like a small army, and gradually, the whispers died down.
Not because people stopped gossiping. Because they were too intimidated to do it openly.
The executive elevator whisked them upward, and Rosie let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.
"That was intense."
"It'll get easier," Lisa promised.
"Or harder," Jisoo added. "Depends on how many more people you accidentally grope."
"I'M NEVER LIVING THAT DOWN, AM I?"
"Nope."
"Never."
"Absolutely not."
Rosie groaned as the elevator doors opened onto the executive floor.
---
Her first task as "Personal Assistant" was simple: deliver documents to various departments. Easy. Foolproof. The kind of task that couldn't possibly go wrong.
Rosie grabbed the stack of folders and headed for the elevator, determined to prove herself capable and professional.
The first stop was Marketing.
The receptionist was a sweet-looking girl with dimples and an enthusiastic wave. "Hi! You must be Rosie! I'm Dahyun! Everyone's been talking about you!"
"Good things, I hope."
"Mostly confused things. But curious confused! Like 'how did she manage that' confused, not 'what is she wearing' confused."
Rosie decided to like Dahyun. "Honestly? I'm also confused. We're all confused together."
She delivered the documents, exchanged a few more pleasantries, and was about to leave when she noticed a plant on the reception desk. A lovely little fern, slightly droopy.
"Your plant needs water," Rosie said automatically. "Ferns are dramatic. They faint when they're thirsty. Very relatable."
Dahyun blinked. "You... talk to plants?"
"I communicate with all living things. It's a gift." Rosie leaned closer to the fern. "You're doing great, sweetie. Stay strong."
Dahyun giggled. "You're funny."
"I'm hilarious. It's a burden."
---
The second stop was HR.
The receptionist here was a woman named Jihyo, who looked at Rosie with the exhausted expression of someone who'd been dealing with gossip all morning and was already over it.
"Documents?" Jihyo asked.
"Documents," Rosie confirmed, sliding them across the desk.
"Thanks." Jihyo paused. "For what it's worth, I think the rumors are ridiculous. You seem nice."
"I am nice! Very nice! Dangerously nice! Some might say too nice!"
Jihyo's lips twitched. "Okay then."
"Also, your eyebrows are amazing. Like, really amazing. Perfect arch. Very symmetrical. Ten out of ten."
Jihyo stared at her.
Rosie stared back.
"I'm going to go now," Rosie announced. "Before I say more things."
She left to the sound of Jihyo's surprised laugh.
---
The third stop was IT.
And that's where things got complicated.
The IT department was a maze of cubicles and blinking lights and people who looked like they hadn't seen sunlight in years. Rosie navigated through it, looking for the right desk, when she passed a woman who made her do a double-take.
Long dark hair. Perfect smile. Eyes that crinkled adorably when she laughed at something on her screen.
She was beautiful. Like, ridiculously beautiful. The kind of beautiful that made Rosie's flirt reflex activate before her brain could stop it.
"Excuse me," Rosie said, stopping beside her desk. "I'm looking for the IT manager's office. Can you help?"
The woman looked up, and her smile widened. "Oh! You're Rosie! From the party! Everyone's been talking about you!"
"That seems to be a theme." Rosie leaned against the cubicle wall, casual and confident. "And you are?"
"Sana! I'm the receptionist for the main lobby usually, but I'm covering IT today because Mina's sick." She tilted her head, studying Rosie with interest. "You're even prettier in person."
Rosie's brain short-circuited. "I—what?"
"The videos from the party don't do you justice. Your hair is longer than it looked. And your eyes are really pretty."
"Sana, was it?" Rosie recovered quickly, leaning in slightly. "That's a beautiful name. For a beautiful person. Very fitting."
Sana's smile turned mischievous. "Are you flirting with me?"
"Are you flirting with me first?"
"I asked a question. You answered with compliments. That's flirting."
"That's being polite."
"In Korea? With that tone? Definitely flirting."
Rosie laughed, genuine and bright. "Okay, you caught me. I'm flirting. But in my defense, you're very flirting-worthy."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Sana stood, moving closer. She smelled like peaches. "So, you're living with the CEOs now? That's... interesting."
"It's a long story."
"I like long stories."
"It involves multiple accidental kisses, a topless encounter, and approximately seventeen fainting incidents."
Sana's eyes widened. "That's the best story I've ever heard. You have to tell me the full version sometime."
"Sometime soon," Rosie promised. "Over coffee. Or drinks. Whatever you prefer."
"It's a date."
"It's a—" Rosie paused. "Wait, is it actually a date?"
"Would that be a problem?"
Rosie thought about it. Thought about three CEOs waiting for her upstairs. Thought about the contract she'd signed. Thought about the way her heart raced when she was around Lisa, Jennie, and Jisoo.
But this was just flirting. Harmless flirting. She'd always flirted. It didn't mean anything.
"It wouldn't be a problem at all," Rosie heard herself say.
Sana's smile could have powered the entire building.
---
Upstairs, in the CEOs' shared office, three women were watching a very large monitor.
The monitor showed the IT department.
The IT department showed Rosie leaning against a cubicle, laughing with a beautiful receptionist, looking for all the world like she was having the time of her life.
"She's flirting," Lisa said flatly.
"Extensively," Jennie agreed.
"With the receptionist." Jisoo's voice was calm, but her eyes had narrowed slightly. "The very pretty receptionist."
"The one who just called her pretty." Lisa's grip on her coffee cup tightened. "The one who just said it was a date."
"It's not a date," Jennie said. "It can't be a date. She lives with us. She signed a contract."
"Contracts don't cover flirting with beautiful receptionists," Jisoo pointed out.
"Maybe they should."
On screen, Rosie was now touching Sana's arm. Lightly. Casually. But definitely touching.
Lisa's coffee cup made a cracking sound.
"That's my favorite mug," Jennie said absently, not looking away from the screen.
"I'll buy you a new one."
"That was limited edition."
"Then I'll buy the company that made it and force them to make more."
On screen, Rosie finally extracted herself from Sana's desk, but not before exchanging what looked suspiciously like phone numbers.
Phone numbers.
Sana was getting Rosie's phone number.
"We have her phone number," Lisa said. "We've had it for days. She's never given it to us voluntarily. We had to get it from HR."
"That's different," Jennie argued. "We're her... whatever we are. She's probably intimidated."
"She's not intimidated by Sana. She's giving Sana her number like it's nothing."
Jisoo leaned back in her chair, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Jealous?"
"No," Lisa said immediately.
"Yes," Jennie admitted.
"Extremely," Lisa amended. "I'm extremely jealous. Look at them. Look at how she's laughing. She laughs like that with us too, but—"
"But it's different when it's someone else," Jisoo finished. "I know."
On screen, Rosie finally disappeared from view, heading toward the elevator. Sana watched her go, a satisfied smile on her face.
"She's going to be a problem," Jennie murmured.
"Sana?"
"Both of them. Sana for being beautiful and flirty. Rosie for being... Rosie."
The elevator doors closed on the IT department, and the three CEOs sat in contemplative silence.
Then Lisa stood abruptly. "I'm going down there."
"To do what?" Jisoo asked.
"I don't know yet. But I'm going."
"Sit down." Jennie's voice was calm but firm. "We can't control her. We don't want to control her. That's not what this is."
"Then what IS this? Because right now it feels like we're watching our girlfriend—or whatever she is—flirt with someone else, and I don't like it."
"She's not our girlfriend yet," Jisoo reminded gently. "She's our... experiment. Our trial. She's allowed to be herself. Allowed to flirt. We knew that going in."
"I didn't know it would feel like THIS."
Jennie reached for Lisa's hand, pulling her back down. "Neither did I. But we need to handle it like adults. Like the mature, powerful CEOs we are."
"And if being mature and powerful doesn't work?"
"Then we get creative."
---
Rosie returned to the executive floor completely oblivious to the storm she'd caused. She was humming. Actually humming. The delivery task had gone well! She'd been professional! Well, mostly professional. There might have been some flirting. But flirting was just... her. It didn't mean anything.
The CEOs' office door was closed.
She knocked.
"Come in."
The voice was Jennie's, but something about it made Rosie pause. It was too calm. The kind of calm that preceded a storm.
She entered.
Three faces turned to look at her. Three expressions that were carefully, dangerously neutral.
"Hi?" Rosie offered. "I delivered all the documents. Very successfully. Nothing caught on fire. No one got groped. Well, no one NEW got groped. The car incident doesn't count because that was already today."
"Sit down, Rosie." Jisoo gestured to a chair in front of their massive desk.
Rosie sat. "Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?"
"Because you are," Lisa said simply.
"For WHAT? I did my job! I was professional! Well, mostly professional. There might have been some... personality. But personality is professional! It's part of personal branding!"
"You flirted with the receptionist."
Rosie blinked. "Which receptionist? There were several."
"SANA." Jennie's voice had an edge now. "The beautiful one. The one who called you pretty. The one you gave your phone number to."
"How do you know about—" Rosie's eyes widened. "Were you WATCHING me?"
The three CEOs exchanged glances.
"We have cameras," Jisoo admitted. "Everywhere. For security."
"You were spying on me!"
"We were monitoring employee interactions. It's standard protocol."
"It's NOT standard protocol to watch your new roommate flirt with someone!"
"It is when that roommate is you." Lisa leaned forward. "You gave her your number, Rosie. After one conversation. After she called it a date."
"It wasn't a date! It was... friendly banter! I banter with everyone! It's my thing!"
"Your thing is making us jealous?"
Rosie's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again.
"Were you... jealous?" she asked slowly. "All three of you? Of Sana?"
The silence was deafening.
"Oh my god," Rosie breathed. "You WERE jealous. The three most powerful women in Seoul were jealous of a receptionist flirting with me."
"We were not jealous," Jennie said stiffly.
"You're literally punishing me right now!"
"That's not jealousy, that's... corrective action."
"For WHAT? Existing?"
"For flirting with employees when you're supposed to be our... whatever you are."
Rosie's heart did something complicated. They were jealous. Actually jealous. Which meant they actually cared. Which meant this whole arrangement wasn't just an experiment to them.
"Okay," she said softly. "Okay. I'm sorry. I didn't think... I didn't realize it would bother you. Flirting is just... it's how I am. It doesn't mean anything."
"Maybe it should." Jisoo's voice was gentle. "Maybe we want it to mean something. With us."
Rosie looked at them. Really looked. At Lisa's conflicted expression. At Jennie's carefully controlled features. At Jisoo's warm, waiting eyes.
"I'll try," she whispered. "To be more... aware. Of how my flirting affects you. But it's going to take time. I've been this way forever."
"We know." Jennie's voice softened. "And we're not trying to change you completely. Just... maybe dial it back. At work. Where we have to watch."
"So... no more flirting with Sana?"
"DEFINITELY no more flirting with Sana," Lisa said firmly.
"But as punishment for today..." Jisoo stood, walking to a corner of the office where a small stool sat facing the wall. "You'll sit here. For the rest of the day. No phone. No distractions. Just you and your thoughts."
"You're putting me in time out?"
"We're putting you in reflective solitude."
"I'm an adult!"
"Then reflect like one." Jennie gestured to the stool. "Go on. Face the wall. Contemplate your choices."
Rosie stared at them in disbelief. Then, slowly, she stood and walked to the corner.
The stool was uncomfortable. The wall was blank. The position was absolutely humiliating.
Behind her, she could hear them trying not to laugh.
"This isn't funny," she muttered.
"It's a little funny," Lisa said.
"A lot funny," Jennie corrected.
"The funniest," Jisoo agreed.
Rosie sat in silence for approximately three minutes.
Then she noticed the plant.
It was a small succulent, sitting on a shelf in the corner, looking slightly neglected.
"Hey there," Rosie whispered to it. "You look thirsty. Are you thirsty? You probably are. Succulents are tough, but they still need love. I get it. I need love too. We all need love."
Behind her, she heard a choked sound.
"Did she just—" Lisa started.
"She's talking to the plant," Jennie confirmed.
"It's a succulent," Rosie called without turning around. "His name is Steven. He's very lonely. We're bonding."
"Steven," Jisoo repeated.
"Yes. Steven Succulent. We're going to be best friends. Right, Steven?"
She waited, as if expecting an answer.
"He's not responding," she announced. "Probably shy. I don't blame him. New environment. Strange people. It takes time to open up."
"Rosie." Lisa's voice was strained with laughter. "Please stop talking to the plant."
"I can't. Steven needs me. He's going through a lot."
"What could a succulent possibly be going through?"
Rosie considered this. "Existential crisis. He's stuck in a pot. His whole world is this shelf. He probably dreams of running free in the desert but he's trapped in corporate America. Or Korea. Corporate Korea. It's very sad."
"That's it." Jennie stood, walking toward the corner "Punishment over. I can't watch this anymore."
"But I was just getting to know Steven!"
"You can visit Steven tomorrow. For now, come back to the desk. We have actual work to do."
Rosie stood, stretching dramatically. "Fine. But Steven and I have unfinished business."
She turned to find all three CEOs watching her with expressions of fond exasperation.
"You're impossible," Lisa said.
"I'm delightful. There's a difference."
"Delightfully impossible."
"That works too."
Jennie pulled out her phone, typing quickly. "I'm ordering lunch. What do you want?"
"Food," Rosie said. "Any food. All food. Food that will nourish my body and soul after the trauma of being separated from Steven."
"Sushi?"
"Perfect. Steven likes sushi."
"Steven is a plant."
"Steven has sophisticated tastes."
Lisa collapsed onto the couch, laughing helplessly. Jisoo joined her, pulling Jennie down with them. And Rosie, after a moment's hesitation, squeezed onto the end, wedged between Lisa and the armrest.
"So," she said, "just to be clear—the jealousy thing. That means you actually like me? Like, like-like me?"
"Rosie." Jennie's voice was soft. "We moved you into our home. We're paying you to exist near us. We got jealous of a receptionist. What do you think?"
"I think I'm really bad at reading signals."
"You're really bad at everything," Lisa teased. "But we like you anyway."
"Even after I groped Jennie in the car?"
"Especially after that. It was very committed."
Rosie laughed, and for the first time, it felt easy. Natural. Like she belonged here, in this tangle of women on a couch, with Steven the succulent watching over them.
Maybe this whole arrangement wasn't so crazy after all.
---
END OF CHAPTER 6
---
To be continued