#once i take care of this massive art backlog i want to finally start my mort ass off-screen characters design project

[yappacadaver]

yaayyyyy christmas at river fields is gonna be soso fun

[cindylouwho-2]

RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, August 19, 2020

Welcome to my latest summary of recent ecommerce news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & Etsy! This covers articles, podcasts, videos and infographics I came across since the late July report, although some may be older than that.

Please note I am taking the next week off, starting tomorrow (Aug. 19), so I might be a little slow in replying to any comments. 

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES 

USPS has become the focus of investigations due to reported mail slowdowns. Some small businesses who rely on USPS to deliver are suffering. “The longer the policy has been in effect, the worse the backlog gets.” As of today (August 18), the postmaster says they will rollback the changes until after the election in November. This is a rapidly-moving story in part due to the push for voting by mail, and should concern anyone who ships to US customers using regular mail (as opposed to couriers). Meanwhile, they plan to temporarily raise commercial rates during the holiday shopping season, but retail rates will not change. 

Ecommerce sales are still up year over year. "Before Covid-19 hit the US in March, e-commerce made up roughly 12% of retail sales in the country. That figure grew as states issued shelter-in-place orders that shut stores and kept shoppers at home, creating tailwinds for a company like Amazon. But even as states have begun to reopen, e-commerce has remained elevated, according to Bank of America data."..."The Economist used Google search traffic for hints of how lifestyles are changing and found users are still searching terms related to cooking, crafts, and exercise above pre-pandemic rates. There has been a noticeable spike in interest around such products as gardening supplies, baking flour, and Crocs." The UK is still seeing a good increase despite the ease in reduction in lockdown restrictions. The growth is slowing a bit in the US, though. 

Half of US small businesses fail in the first year (and other stats on small business). 

It’s been second quarter report season, covering company performance from April to June 2020.  Here are results for major companies involved in ecommerce in some way (comparisons are year-over-year):

Amazon US: sales up 40%

eBay: sales up 26%

Etsy: sales up $146% [click the link to read my summary]

Facebook: revenue up 11%

Google: revenue down 2%

PayPal: revenue up 22%

Pinterest: revenue up 4%; active users up 39%

Shopify: revenue up 97%

Walmart [2nd quarter ran May to July]: ecommerce sales up 97%, same-store sales up 9.3%

ETSY NEWS 

Admin are now posting a monthly update thread, in case you fear you have missed anything. This is how they chose to announce that non-seller accounts can no longer post in the forum. Since those account owners can still read the forum, that doesn’t mean you can call out your customers now. 

Sadly, there wasn’t much media coverage of Etsy’s nearly-annual billing screw up, but this one did get some attention. 

Etsy continues to get good media coverage for masks, including masks for your dolls. They also apparently got a decent slice of Google ranking for various pandemic-related searches in May [scroll down to the “Protection and Prevention” section]. 

However, Etsy is getting some bad press (along with Amazon), for allowing QAnon merchandise, because “the FBI has warned of the movement's potential to incite domestic terrorism.” Etsy replied to a request for comment saying that “that product listings associated with certain movements are allowed as long as they don't violate the company's seller or prohibited items policies, which ban items that promote hate or that could incite violence. The company said it is continually reviewing items on the site and could remove items in the future if they're found to violate Etsy's policies.”

More search trends on Etsy, this time kids’ items. I love how they think tie-dye was a ‘90s thing and not a ‘60-70s thing LOL. “a 318% increase in searches for kids tie-dye items...71% increase in searches for dinosaur wall art or decor*, and a 37% increase in searches for school of fish items….we’ve seen kid-friendly crafts spike in popularity, with searches for DIY kits for kids up 336%.”

Also, the holiday trends guide is out. “With the holidays approaching, and most shopping happening online, more shoppers will be looking for your help to make the season feel special.” The report is lengthy, covering Halloween to New Year’s, and most listing categories, while pointing out the possible pandemic changes to the usual trends. There is also an accompanying podcast with transcript. 

Speaking of the holiday season, here are Etsy’s tips for shops. Note that it is a bit late, as businesses need to have their holiday items posted no later than July if they want to be eligible for most fall media coverage. Almost every point refers to an Etsy tool or feature, some of them costing you money, so use this as a very broad guideline & be careful to read between the lines. 

They are still rolling out Etsy Payments to more countries: Morocco & Israel are the most recent. Note that Etsy Payments is not yet compulsory in these new countries. 

Etsy Ads once again has graphs. Do you find them useful? (I haven’t run ads at all this year, so I can’t check.)

Sendle is the latest shipping company to have a label integration with Etsy shops. 

Etsy asked US sellers to lobby their reps for more support for small business and other initiatives in the pandemic aid package.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES 

Google has stated that content on tabs is indexed and contributes to ranking as if it were on the page instead, but yet another test demonstrates that tabs may limit you. 

Due to the pandemic, Google has delayed finalizing mobile-first indexing until March 2021. (They originally announced it would be finished this September.) That means you have more time to update your website’s mobile version, ideally with responsive design. 

Site speed does matter to SEO, and Google is now asking some searchers how fast certain sites loaded for them. 

User comments on your products, blog posts and website can help you improve your SEO. The article suggests ways of getting that feedback, and ways to use it. [I’ve even had buyers give me new keywords to describe my items, in their messages and reviews.]

Getting links back to your site is important to SEO, but don’t annoy people while doing it. [sort of humour & sort of a rant, but does give some useful background on why backlinks matter.] Internal links also matter. 

There are some special tricks for food/recipe SEO, including structured data and even a WordPress plugin. 

Another WordPress plugin: submit any new or updated pages to Bing to be automatically re/indexed.

Do your keyword research before setting up your website’s sections and sub-sections, as they should serve the buyer experience, not your perception of it. Same with choosing which pages link to each other. 

SEOs are still trying to work out what happened with recent Google algorithm changes. Search Engine Journal claims that the May update was at least in part about demoting sites that had out-of-date or inaccurate information, so they suggest getting rid of the bad content on your site, or at least updating it. “Content pruning” has some advocates, but I wouldn’t worry about investing tons of time in this unless you have tons of time to spend. Just get rid of the blog posts that were wildly wrong, and the out-of-date filler. If you have a lot of sold out products, redirect those to relevant active pages. 

Meanwhile, a “glitch” on August 10 led people to think there was a massive Google algorithm update happening, but it all got fixed in less than a day. 

If you are behind on Google search news, here is a 7 minute video [with time stamped subtopics & resources links listed below], direct from Google. 

(CONTENT) MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails) 

It’s tough to get started in social media if you don’t know the terminology, so here’s a list of the basic definitions you can consult if you get lost when reading.  

Don’t know how to blog? There are formulas you can use; here are eight options, nicely laid out, with downloadable templates. Don’t forget to figure out what your audience wants to read. And make sure you avoid these common blogging mistakes. 

If you have an email list but do not know how to take advantage of all the bells & whistles the companies (MailChimp, Constant Contact etc.) offer you, here are 4 ways to segment your lists. You can then send different offers or newsletters to different segments. 

You can optimize your social posts for people with visual impairments; excellent tips here. 

By the time you read this, the TikTok mess will likely have changed again, but here is an article on Trump’s order to prohibit US companies from doing business with TikTok owner ByteDance if the platform is not sold by September 15. 

Instagram has released its TikTok challenger, Reels, in more countries. 

Instagram is now offering a fundraising option, although it is a slow launch with some beta testing in the US, UK & Ireland to start. 

Here are step-by-step instructions on setting up your “Shop on Instagram.”

Pinterest says that searches around self-care & wellness have spiked during the pandemic lockdowns. “Pinterest has recently seen the highest searches ever around mental wellness ideas including meditation (+44%), gratitude (+60%) and positivity (+42%) that jumped from February to May….Pinterest says that searches for ‘starting a new business’ are up 35% on average, as are searches for ‘future life goals’ (2x), ‘life bucket list’ (+65%), ‘family goals future’ (+30%) and ‘future house goals’ (+78%).” There were also some searches clearly about spending more time at home: “Productive morning routine (up 6x), Exercise routine at home (up 12x), Self care night routine (up 7x)”

LinkedIn has a new algorithm; here’s how to make it work for you. [Many of these tips also apply to social media in general.]

Spotify is now doing “video podcasts”. Apparently a lot of their podcasters already did a video version of the Spotify podcasts, but had to publish it elsewhere up until now. 

Twitter now admits it is considering offering subscriptions to shore up its revenue numbers. “Shares of Twitter rose 4% in early trading Thursday following the earnings results....Twitter's growth plans are under close scrutiny as many advertisers pull back due to the pandemic. On Thursday, Twitter reported second-quarter ad revenues of $562 million, a 23% decrease compared to the same quarter a year ago. The company has also been hit by advertisers participating in an ad boycott of social media, linked to the nationwide racial justice protests.” Also, the recent hack is not helping them. 

That said, it is still possible to market using Twitter, and here are some of the basics. 

YouTube is no longer sending email updates when a channel you follow posts new content. 

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS) 

Ad spend has increased again as lockdowns end, in some cases beating last year by a decent margin. 

The Buy on Google program is ending its commission fees. Participants will also be able to integrate their PayPal and/or Shopify payment options. As often is the case, they are starting with the US first, but plan on rolling it out to more countries in the future. There are more details here, and a review here (with some of the drawbacks). 

Google Product Ads are now showing the item’s “material” on the listing card (before you click). If you are doing your own feed for your website, you may have the ability to add the attributes needed for the details to show up.  

If you find Google Ads too expensive, consider buying search ads on Bing. 

eBay is experimenting with showing ads mixed in with unpaid listings; placement would depend on the same algorithm. 

Here’s a new guide to Facebook Ads [videos & text]

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING 

Bing has launched a new version of Webmaster Tools. 

There are ways to reduce the amount of traffic that Google Analytics designates as “direct traffic”; here are 15 of them. 

Currently in closed beta testing, the Google Search Console now has an “Insights” function, just like Google Analytics. I’ve found the GA one useful for telling me things I don’t always look at, so crossing my fingers that they release this to everyone soon. 

 ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS 

Shopify helped many businesses stay open during pandemic lockdowns, giving it the boost to start competing with the likes of Amazon in ecommerce. “Shopify merchants that had previously or entirely relied on brick-and-mortar sales would later report they were able revive nearly 95% of that revenue online.”

eBay started rolling out its Managed Payments system to more sellers worldwide on July 20th. Things seem to be going slowly, with some confusion. 

But eBay is also having a 25th anniversary party for sellers on September 25th; don’t forget to register. 

Walmart is still delaying its new subscription model to challenge Amazon Prime, Walmart+. 

Amazon in the UK has launched a “Face mask store” part of the website. I haven’t seen this on other versions of Amazon. They’ve also increased some fees for some UK sellers, based on the new UK digital tax. And they are launching a site & presence in Sweden. 

The Competition Bureau of Canada has launched an investigation of Amazon’s treatment of third-party sellers. “The bureau is asking any person or business that has conducted sales via Amazon.ca to contact them if they have any insights into the issues it is investigating.“

Amazon Prime Day has been postponed to later dates this year, starting with India on August 6-7. The remaining countries will apparently be announced soon. 

If you use WooCommerce, here are a bunch of free plugins, with brief descriptions. 

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE 

Buyers do not all make purchase decisions the same way; Google uses its massive collection of data and some new studies to provide some examples. “Worldwide, search interest for “best” has far outpaced search interest for “cheap.”

It’s cheaper to keep repeat buyers than it is to find new ones; here are 16 ways to do that. One of my favourites is ““proactively providing information on how to avoid problems or get more out of your product” creates a 32% average lift to repurchase or recommend.”

It seems that researchers can never produce enough marketing guides on Gen Z and millennials. 

MISCELLANEOUS (including humour) 

I see a lot of new sellers, and some older sellers, confused about the idea of a business plan. HubSpot not only explains them, but also provides a downloadable template. 

If you are thinking of changing careers, or just want to add skills to better run your current business, Google has many different courses, some of which they offer for free. 

There are ways you can increase your productivity without (usually) working more hours. “A study published by John Pencavel of Standford University found that how much employees get done takes a sharp drop after 50 hours of work in a week, and even more drastically after 55 hours. The study found that employees working 70 hours per week actually produce nothing more in those extra 15 hours...taking a power nap in the middle of the day can help you process new information and even learn new skills.”

[honeymoonjin]

enjoy your stay - chapter two

A/N I finished a little early, so I figured I might as well put it out there and get working on chapter three! 

ENJOY YOUR STAY ↳Boss!Namjoon, Chef!Jin, Receptionist!Hoseok, Bellboy!Jimin, Bartender!Jungkook, Accountant!Yoongi, Photography student!Taehyung ↳Some inappropriate language and cursing. Later chapters will have sexual content.

SUMMARY ↳Working the graveyard shift at a hotel isn’t the most exciting job in the world, but your coworkers are certainly happy to have you here.

CHAPTER TWO ↳Settling into your new job certainly takes time. Luckily, you’re getting on with the other workers. The only problem is your newest guest.

You had been working at the hotel for a little under two weeks now, 7 nights a week, and while you were getting used to the actual work, the upside-down sleep schedule was another thing.

You weren't usually one for coffee, but you found if you got it from the cafe down the road that had a million different flavoured syrups, you could disguise the bitter liquid as you inhaled it by the litre. Sleeping during the day was just plain weird, and it was probably naive of you to expect a smooth transition to a nocturnal timetable.

That being said, the warm, caring boss of yours was doing his best to ease the change, even once going so far as to let you take a nap in his office - while he was still working in there, no less - when you felt like you were about to fall asleep on your feet.

So far, the workload had been pretty straightforward, but as you would quickly come to learn, every night was different. Your regular tasks were mostly just checking up on everything and everyone, and passing along any messages between staff.

When Jin decided mid-dinner service to tweak the menu for the following night, he couldn't exactly leave and go find Namjoon to tell him. When Hoseok ran out of printer paper, he couldn't just walk away from the reception desk, as empty as the lobby may seem. That was the main reason why Namjoon had to hire a night manager. He found it impossible to be in a million places at once while trying to do his own work.

Your first couple of weeks so far had been you checking up on each of the six staff members (five, really, since you hadn't seen Yoongi since your first night) every two hours, and helping Namjoon out in the office with filing in between.

Currently, at 5am, two hours before you were free to go home and fall in a pile on your bed again, you were cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by haphazard piles of paper. Namjoon was at his desk, gazing intensely at his computer screen, fingers hovering over the keys. While his work was in dealing with current issues like payrolls, bookings, and maintenance, you had been tasked with the backlog of files. Namjoon, while a pretty organised guy in most aspects, had no respect for chronological and alphabetical ordering.

He had shown you a cupboard in the back of his office, with a stack of aging paper the height of a small child leaning dangerously to one side, and asked that you create a filing system.

Here you had been for the past three days, relishing the two-hourly break where you could work out the creaking in your knees and stare at something other than black ink on a white page. It wasn't difficult work, just menial and time-consuming. The paper-heap was a heavy mix of printouts of important emails, photocopies of Yoongi's financial reports, receipts, and, oddly enough, a smattering of Christmas cards every now and then to mark that you had trawled through another year of paperwork.

The pile in the cupboard was finally dwindling, but now your new task was to work out a way to put all the assorted categories away. As it was, every time one of you wanted to leave the office, you had to tiptoe your way through stacks of paper littering the carpet.

You groan and let out a stretch, wincing as you feel the vertebrae in your back and neck click. "Namjoon, I might need to pop down to the office stationery store to get some filing boxes. I think it'll take me the rest of the night to finish up the last of it and then put them away."

He blinks tiredly at you. "The office store closes at 5pm. You missed it by twelve hours."

You yawn. Yup, definitely not used to the nocturnal schedule.

He twitches his eyebrows. "Actually, you could pop down to the accounts firm. It's a two minute drive, and they've got a stationery cupboard. If I gave Yoongi a call, he could set some stuff aside for you."

"Oh, you don't have to wake him for that. I can go another time," you offer, shuffling out of your cross-legged stance to stretch out your legs, wiggling your feet back and forth.

He lets out a laugh that sounds more like a hum. "You don't know Yoongi very well. If you want to sleep, he's probably awake." He pauses. "And vice versa, actually." Namjoon sits up in his office chair and starts punching in a number on his desk phone. After a few moments of silence, his face lightens when someone speaks on the other end.

They share a brief conversation, you too sleepy to pay much attention, and you jump when something falls into your lap. A set of keys on a worn leather keyring. You look up at Namjoon in confusion.

"Take the company car," he explains, "looks more official than you showing up in your Corolla to sneak into the firm." He gives you a tired grin.

You nod affirmatively and pick your way out of the messy office.

The accounting firm is extremely large and well-off, which is probably due to the complete lack of competition in your small town. Surprisingly, there are at least six cars in the vast lot, and the building is totally lit up inside.

It's upon entering that you realise you have no idea where to actually go, so you awkwardly wander around the first floor until you find a young lady hunched over a computer in her tiny cubicle, and ask her where Yoongi worked.

Strangely, she guides you to the top floor of the building, even scanning her staff ID to be able to select the top floor on the elevator panel. Yoongi's office is massive, in the far corner of the floor, with his name engraved into the glass door.

You knock awkwardly, although it's not like he can't see you. He tilts his head to wave you in, then again at the chairs when you don't make a move to go further into the room.

Sitting on the plush armchair, you rub your eyes. "I'm just here to pick up some filing boxes for Namjoon?"

He gives you a small, bemused smile. "So you aren't just here for my company?"

"This is your company?" When he furrows his brow, you realise your mistake. "Oh man, I get what you mean now. I'm sorry, this new job has me tired all the time. I'm a little out of it, if you couldn't tell." Partly to emphasise your point, and partly to avoid his catlike stare, you lower your face and rub at your eyes.

He's silent for a moment, but then you hear his chair roll back and feel the warm weight of his hand on your shoulder. "I'll forgive you this time, sleepyhead. Here, I'll take you to our storage room."

The rest of your visit is filled with comfortable silence; you, too tired to make conversation, and him, probably wanting you to leave as soon as you could so he could get back to his own work. The rest of your shift goes quickly with that same silence, as you do one final round before leaving, drive home with your eyes as open as you can hold them, and collapse in your bed the moment you walk in your front door.

It's a little over six weeks before you see a single customer out and about between the hours of 11:30pm and 7am, and when it happens, you're completely bewildered. It's a young man curled up in the corner of one of the booths in the bar. He has a half-empty glass of some amber liquid, and a little bowl of nuts at the end of the table, and the space in front of him is covered by glossy photographs and a single, very expensive-looking camera.

You had almost forgotten what you were supposed to do when a customer was out of their rooms, and for a moment you hovered in the doorway, unsure whether you should ask him if he needed any help, or just not bother him at all.

In the end, it's Jungkook that makes the decision for you. "Oh, there you are! I have a message for you to pass on to Namjoon!"

The man looks up from the booth to see how Jungkook's speaking to, and you share a moment of eye-contact with him as you walk across the open space to the bar.

He's gorgeous. You selfishly hope that he's one of those customers that stays for a week or two, rather than overnight, in the hope that you get to see him again. His eyes stare deeply into yours, and it's you that looks away first. "What can I do for you, Jungkook?"

"Tell Namjoon Tae arrived."

You blink. "Is that a type of alcohol, or?"

Jungkook laughs. "What is it with you and assuming alcohol is on my mind 24/7? Just because I'm a bartender doesn't make me an alcoholic. No, Tae's that handsome gentlemen over there."

You can't help but sneak another look. The man in question, Tae, lifts his hand in a jaunty wave, but his face stays neutral, curious rather than overly friendly.

You nod at him and turn back to Jungkook. "Tae's here, got it. Anything else?"

Jungkook grins. "Tell him Tae is refusing to pay for his drinks."

"O- Oh. Do you need me to..." you trail off lamely, not sure what it is exactly you could possibly do about a customer refusing to pay.

"Force him to hand over his cold, hard cash? Feel free to try. I'd certainly love to see that."

You clear your throat in embarrassment, feeling the weight of Tae's gaze on you. "I'll go tell Namjoon," you muster, and hightail out of the bar.

Namjoon doesn't seem particularly shocked or concerned that there was a thief in the bar when you told him about your encounter. He just nods understandingly, and leans back deeper in his chair, swaying lazily back and forth.

"So, you know him then?"

His wry smile confirms it. "He's my little brother," he explains. "I give him free accommodation while he stays in school. He's doing a degree in fine arts, if you can believe it." He sighs. "Somehow he thinks it means everything in this hotel is free to boot. That punk."

"That's really sweet of you, Namjoon. I wish I had a brother like you, maybe I wouldn't have dropped out of uni."

He looks up at you in surprise. "I didn't know you went to uni."

"Well," you allow, "it's probably not a good look to put med school dropout on your resume."

"Med school, huh?" He gives you a soft smile. "I went to veterinary school, if you can believe it."

You think of his friendly disposition and caring nature. "I can, actually. It'll probably come in handy one day when Jin accidentally lets his fish of the day loose in the hotel."

He laughs for a few moments, but sobers up again. "Look, we have to put Tae in a different room from his usual because it's been booked already. Would you mind tracking him down and taking him to room 12? I'll set him up with a key tomorrow, well, today I guess, but for now he needs someone to unlock the door for him."

"Sure thing, boss." Your body is half out the door before he calls out to you.

"You don't have to call me boss, you know?"

You grin at him. "Sure thing, Joonie."

You leave before he gets the chance to take it back and stroll contentedly through the hallways, back the way you came. By the set-up Tae had before, you didn't imagine he had gone anywhere in the past few minutes.

You were right. He was still in his spot, Jungkook coming out from behind the bar with a bottle of something to top up the empty glass held in Tae's outstretched hand.

You intercept the bottle as its tipping, making sure the glass stays empty. Jungkook simply nods and pulls back, but Tae looks up when the pouring fails to commence and levels you with a heavy stare.

"Namjoon asked me to take you to your room. Room 12, this time."

He looks back at his elaborate set-up of pictures, then back at you slowly. "I'm busy, but thank you."

He nods meaningfully at Jungkook, who hesitantly holds up the bottle, but you hold your hand out to stop it again. "I know, and I'm sorry, but you need me to unlock the door for you for now, and I get off in twenty minutes."

"Then come back in twenty minutes."

"Uh... I would really prefer if you-"

"Relax, relax, I'm kidding." He shuffles up all the photos painstakingly slowly, disrupting their meticulously arranged display, and tucks them into a pocket of his camera bag. Once he's finished, he jerks his head at his empty glass with a cocky smirk on his face. "One for the road, if I may, ma'am?"

You shrug and shake your head. "Whatever, sure."

Jungkook pours two fingers into the glass, then disappears behind the bar. You stand, shifting your weight from one foot to the other, as Tae savours each mouthful, at long last draining the glass and standing up with his things.

You lead him to his room in silence, not in the mood to make your final few minutes of work go on any longer with his brand of nonsense. He doesn't notice, or chooses not to comment on, your brisk pace through the hallways.

When the pair of you arrive at the door, you unlock the door, and lean in to hold it open for him. Unlike most people who would try their best to shuffle in quickly without any necessary physical contact, he faces you as he slips his body past, breath hot on your face as he passes close enough for you to feel his camera bag push against your torso.

When he's in, you snatch your hand back and fail to say a proper goodbye before leaving.

The lobby is much closer than the service entrance, and so you take that way out in order to leave on time, forgetting to even let Namjoon know you were heading off.

You didn't know what it was specifically about Tae that made your blood boil, but you suspected it was the frustrating combination of an asshole that was devastatingly handsome. A man like that knew exactly what he was doing and how it would rile you up, but some part of you was still glad he was going to be hanging around for a whole semester. Maybe you were a sadist, maybe you were just sexually frustrated.

On your way out the lobby, Jimin is absent, but so is the luggage trolley, so you assume he must have hit the jackpot and got an actual customer for once. Unfortunately for him, it was also at the time he was meant to be heading off. An unfamiliar man in that familiar uniform and hat was hanging around the lobby couches waiting to take over.

Hoseok, however, was still at reception, although his legs were kicked up on the corner of the desk and he was stuffing his face with ramen from a takeout container. He lit up, cheeks full, and waved you over once he saw you.

Hoseok had a habit of making you hang around for ages whenever you did your rounds. Whenever he had anything that needed doing or messages that needed to be passed on, it always came with twenty minutes of backstory and digressions until he finally reached the original point. You couldn't ever get mad at him though, because he was just too lovely to you.

"Hey, muppet, you off?"

You gasp in mock surprise. "My goodness, Hoseok, what if a customer had heard you? They'd be outraged at your informality and they'd leave a one star review on Yelp!"

He narrows his eyes at you, shaking his chopstick like he's wagging a finger. "Don't be foolish. The customers don't come here for the hotel, they come here for my beautiful beside manner."

"You aren't a doctor, Hobi."

"In a way! Just instead of a surgeon of the body, I'm a surgeon of the...customer service."

You sigh at him. "If I understood what you were trying to say, perhaps I could've responded to it."

"Genius doesn't come to all of us, don't worry."

"Okay, Customer Service, MD., I'm going home to sleep off the memory of this conversation." You lean in and give him a side-hug, careful to avoid staining your dress shirt with his spicy breakfast.

"Bye bye, muppet. Maybe if Kyeong-eun arrives on time for once in her life, I can walk you out."

"You still owe me coffee for that one time I snuck out to get you a McFlurry. See you tonight, Hobi."

“See you.”