About two weeks ago, Anh happened to see a green, plump worm about 8-10 centimeters long crawling on periwinkle plants on the company’s campus. Attracted by its beautiful color, she brought the worm to her workstation to admire as a stress-relief pastime.

Every day, at around 7 am, Anh takes a branch of the plant with the worm to her seat, and after work at 4.30 pm, she releases it back into the garden. Wherever she leaves it, she usually finds it in the same place the next day. The worm will still be there or it just moves to a nearby plant.

Though there are many similar worms in the company's garden, she is able to find her worm among them. They may look alike at first glance, but each has distinct characteristics. Some have small eyes, some large, while some are plump, and others skinny. The color of their backs also varies, so she can easily identify hers.

When Anh, the mother of three children, first brought the worm to the workshop, some co-workers were scared and thought she was unusual, while others found it amusing.

Bui Thi Kim Chung, a manager at the company, noted that Anh’s worm doesn’t affect her work performance, so the company doesn’t object her hobby.

Though Chung fears worms, she filmed the worm and posted the video on social media attracting 10 million viewers.

"I didn't expect a spur-of-the-moment video to bring so much joy to people. Initially, when Anh brought the worm to the workshop, many workers were scared, including me, but gradually we got familiar with it," Chung said.

Anh said this was her first time raising a caterpillar. Now, the first thing she does when reaching the company is checking if her 'pet' is still there, then clips a periwinkle branch to bring the caterpillar to her seat. Sometimes, she brings 2-3 caterpillars to keep them together.

“Sometimes I am so busy that I forget to bring the worms to my seat and my colleagues ask where my worms are,” she said.

In time, the worms brought small joys to both Anh and her coworkers. Sometimes, people would touch or nudge it with a stick, making it wiggle as a way to release stress.

After getting used to this special 'pet', others also raised caterpillars.

Not only workers, but the company's South Korean managers also began raising worms after watching videos about Anh’s worm.

Trong Tung