The Richest Man Looking for Love

Like any other day, Ken Wong was mopping his office floor while waiting for the appearance of the girl he liked, Lidya Hernawan. A girl who was also his coworker.

Their positions were vastly different. Ken was just a cleaning service worker in the office, while Lidya was a stockbroker who, although still a beginner, had a bright future in one of the largest and best stock investment companies in Jakarta.

Almost every morning, Ken always made time to mop the floor in the area Lidya would pass through.

Lidya's sweet smile was something Ken needed to start his tough days. Especially since Lidya always made time to greet Ken and give him her sweet smile every time she passed by him while Ken was working in this office.

To Ken, Lidya was his ray of cheerfulness, his rose that always brightened his days.

While other employees simply passed Ken by, and sometimes even walked past him angrily and kicked the bucket that was part of his work equipment because they felt their path was blocked by Ken's mopping activity, Lidya always passed by with her sweet smile and occasionally called out his name.

This was what made Ken see Lidya as his ray of cheerfulness.

Actually, Ken and Lidya had never been formally introduced. Ken learned Lidya's name by accident when he heard her friend call out to her, and from that moment on, Ken started memorizing Lidya's name and immediately carved it into the deepest recesses of his heart.

Until one day, Ken started daring to greet Lidya by name when she passed him. Lidya, who was momentarily surprised, immediately returned the greeting by saying Ken's name.

At that moment, Ken was overjoyed when he heard Lidya call him. Because it turned out Lidya also already knew Ken's name, and that meant Lidya had also started to find out about Ken.

From that moment on, Ken and Lidya always greeted each other whenever they met.

"Hello, Ken," Lidya greeted as she passed Ken from behind while he was still busy mopping the floor.

"Eh, hello, Lidya," Ken said with a smile toward Lidya. Ken's eyes briefly met Lidya's eyes for a moment. Only a second, but it was enough to make Ken happy.

Lidya, flanked by her two friends who were also her staff or subordinates, appeared to sneer at Ken.

"Miss Lidya, that cleaning service should be calling you 'ma'am' or 'miss.' He always just uses your name. So disrespectful," said Clara from Lidya's left side.

Clara's words were immediately picked up by Yuni from Lidya's right side. "Yes, Miss Lidya. That is so rude. Miss Lidya already holds a high position in this office, how dare a cleaner like him address Miss Lidya like that."

"Enough. Enough. I'm not that old anyway. It's possible that my age is below Ken's, so it's fine. He can call me like that. Besides, if he called me 'Auntie,' that's when I wouldn't accept it," Lidya said lightly.

"But he has to respect Miss Lidya's position. Miss Lidya's position is already high in this office. Right, Yun?" Clara asked for Yuni's support, which Yuni immediately gave with a nod of her head.

"Enough. What does a position mean anyway. Positions are only temporary. One day, I could suddenly lose my position. Right?" Lidya said as she kept walking.

"That's impossible. Miss Lidya is among the ranks of the best young stockbrokers in this city. This company wouldn't dare fire Miss Lidya," Clara said, which Lidya only responded to with a shrug.

On the other side, Ken was still standing still holding his mop handle, his eyes still following Lidya's departure with a captivated heart.

"HEY!!! WORK!!! STOP DAYDREAMING!!!" This shout from behind successfully startled Ken. Reflexively, Ken immediately focused on moving his mop handle across the office floor to mop.

But a second later, Ken immediately stopped moving his mop handle when he realized something.

Ken turned his body around, while from behind the sound of someone's laughter was heard.

"Lukman! You're messing with me again!" Ken said to a man with a fat body and somewhat dark skin wearing the same cleaning service uniform as the one Ken was wearing at the moment.

This man named Lukman laughed while holding his potbelly.

"That's what you get for daydreaming while working, hahahahaha," Lukman said, laughing at Ken.

"You already know I was daydreaming because of what," Ken complained while moving his mop handle.

"That's why, I've told you many times, you have to start approaching that Lidya. Express your feelings. Don't just stare. How long are you going to keep this up? You've been working here for a year, almost every day you long for your Lidya, but there's never any real action. How long are you going to be like this? Hah!" Lukman said, acting wise.

"But our worlds are different, Luk. She is a successful stockbroker in this office, while I... my job is just this," Ken lamented.

"Hey... you don't need to wait until you become a director first to approach a woman. Just approach her first, ask her to eat, ask her to watch a movie. If you're broke, I can chip in. The important thing is you have to approach her first. Rather than just staring from afar like this, when will your relationship with her move forward?"

"What if she rejects me?"

"The important thing is you've made an effort. If she rejects you, try waiting a while. Usually, a girl who likes you will start evaluating you from a distance. After that, it's possible that she'll be the one approaching you."

"What if she doesn't approach me either?"

"That means she's not your soulmate. At that point, you start pulling your feelings away from her and start shifting your feelings to another woman."

"Hmmm... is that so?"

"Yes. But I think you have a chance to approach that Lidya," Lukman said again.

"Why do you say that?"

"Your face is handsome, an athletic body, six-pack abs, clean white skin. This is what women dream of, you know. Not like me who looks like a balloon. Hmm, it's just that your profession is indeed not on the same level as hers."

"I want her to like me for who I am. Hmmm... alright, I will start approaching Lidya," Ken resolved.

"That's the spirit. Alright then. I'm going to get back to work," Lukman said as he sauntered away.

After Lukman left, suddenly a bespectacled young man approached Ken who was mopping.

The bespectacled young man looked at Ken from the side with a sorrowful expression, then he said, "Young Master Ken."

Ken, who was looking down, immediately froze upon hearing this address. His mop handle stopped moving. An address he had not heard for a year. It made him fall silent.