Chapter 11

"Because"

With eyes wide open, Chaeyeong sat up straight on her chair and stared at the screen in front of her, just like she had been doing for the last 5 hours. Her fingers moved at the speed of light on the keyboard, without any need for her to look down and see what she was typing. Her fingers knew exactly where every key was, every shortcut and they moved on their own like it was second nature to her. 

"Chaeyeong." The voice of her boss sent shivers down her spine, and she immediately looked up from her screen and turned around.

"Yes, sir," said Chaeyeong and held her breath. 

The man in front of her wasn't very tall, but with Chaeyeong sitting down, he suddenly seemed much more intimidating. He wasn't more than 40, but he was already going bald, something Chaeyeong often heard people joke about when he was out of sight. Chaeyeong didn't joke about it though, she always had this feeling he was watching from somewhere, ready to appear out of nowhere, staring at you with the 'you are dead to me' look. The same look he had on his face in this instance.

"Where is the report I told you to write last week?" asked the man in a firm voice.

"I am almost finished with it," said Chaeyeong quickly, "I am sorry, I would have turned it in faster, but I suddenly got swamped with other assignments." Chaeyeong looked at her boss, waiting for a response, but he just closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose, almost like a bull preparing for attack.

"I need that report on my table tomorrow morning. I don't care how many other assignments you have, make it happen," he said while Chaeyeong gulped.

"Y... yes sir," said Chaeyeong, trying not to stutter too much, "I promise you will have the report on your table tomorrow morning." The man nodded once, before disappearing from her sight, just as fast as he appeared.

Chaeyeong let out a sigh once he was out of sight and she quickly turned around, getting back to the pile of work she had lying in front of her.

While she typed away like before, she sensed a sort of high spirited atmosphere spread through the office. 

"He finally left for his lunch break," said one of the female workers as she leaned back in her chair, looking at her colleague in the booth next to her, "I thought I would starve to death."

"I know what you mean," said the man in the other booth, "let's hurry out and get something to eat before he gets back."

"You're right," said a third person, a tall woman who had already closed down her computer and was standing in front of the other two.

"Where should we go today?" asked the woman who was still sitting down.

"How about sushi?" asked the tall woman and the other two nodded in unison. After the other two closed down their computers and grabbed their things, they were ready to leave, until the shorter woman stopped in her tracks.

"Wait, guys, what about..." the woman whispered while gesturing towards Chaeyeong who was still sitting at her desk, working like nothing had happened. The tall woman sighed, before she put on her best smile and walked over.

"Chaeyeong, do you want to eat lunch with us?" Chaeyeong looked up, staring into the dark brown eyes of the woman hovering over her. The smile was slowly starting to fade, showing the expression of disgust hiding underneath, the same expression Chaeyeong saw on her two colleagues standing behind her, whispering things in each other's ears while watching her.

"Um... no thanks... I have a lot of work anyways," answered Chaeyeong while looking at the ground.

"Alright," said the tall woman, while there was a smile of relief on the face of all three colleagues, "how is my assignment coming along... I mean, the assignment you said you would help me with."

"It... It's going okay," said Chaeyeong and felt her heart beating slightly faster, "but... I have a lot of things on my plate... I don't know when-"

"But I have a deadline!" said the tall woman firmly and Chaeyeong gulped.

"I... I know... I understand..." said Chaeyeong and held her breath before continuing, "it will be ready tomorrow." A smile appeared on the woman's face again and she nodded happily.

"Good, thank you Chaeyeong," said the tall woman, "I knew I could count on you." The tall woman turned around and walked back to the other two who were already half way towards the door. Without a word of encouragement, or a single wave, they all left the office and left Chaeyeong alone with her computer.

The silence suddenly seemed so overwhelming. It made every other sound appear louder, making Chaeyeong feel dizzy and unable to focus on her assignment.

Focus, she whispered to herself while her fingers kept pressing down the keys on her keyboard, you don't have time for this stupidity, unless you want to be here all night, you need to pull yourself together.

Staring at her screen, reading through everything over and over again, trying to find even the slightest mistake she might have made, a small drop of water fell on her finger and she immediately stopped typing. Another drop fell down and Chaeyeong lifted her hand and felt her wet cheeks, letting out a nervous laughter.

I guess I forgot to blink, Chaeyeong whispered to herself, but the tears wouldn't stop flowing and Chaeyeong lifted both her hands from her keyboard, covering her face with them, while feeling the tears fall one after the other.

The sound of footsteps nearing from behind immediately brought Chaeyeong back to her senses and she quickly wiped away her tears, hoping her colleague, or whoever was returning, wouldn't notice her tears as long as she focused her eyes on the screen.

"Hello!" Chayeong's eyes shot up when she heard the voice of her friend.

"Wow, you're all alone," said Eric while walking towards Chaeyeong's desk, "did all your colleagues leave for lunch?"

"Mm... yeah... they did," said Chaeyeong and diverted her eyes, "why... are you here?"

"Me? Oh I was at a meeting with a client in this building," explained Eric while leaning against Chaeyeong's desk, making it harder for her to hide her face, "so I thought I would pass by your office on my way back and- wait, are you crying?" The last sentence, Eric said in an almost panicked voice, while Chaeyeong still tried to divert her eyes.

"No... it's nothing..." said Chaeyeong, but she immediately felt both of Eric's hands on her shoulders, forcing her to turn around and look at him. Her red and puffy eyes became visible and Eric felt his heart drop inside his chest.

"Chaeyeong... what-"

"It's nothing!" said Chaeyeong and pushed Eric away, "but I am really busy, can we meet another time?"

"Yes... of course... but I don't think this is nothing," said Eric, while staying by Chaeyeong's side, "are people treating you badly?" Silence overtook their presence, until Chaeyeong couldn't hold back her tears anymore, the sentence spoken by Eric piercing through her heart and soul. Eric watched in agony while the most important person in his life, was falling apart in front of him, and he didn't hesitate for even a second before embracing her, holding her close while she continued crying.

"No... let me go..." said Chaeyeong, still in Eric's arms.

"Chaeyeong, it's okay to be sad, and it's okay to be comforted by someone," said Eric, not letting go of her.

"N... no!" Chaeyeong got free of Eric's arms and moved away, wiping the tears away from her face.

"I don't have time for this... I have two huge assignments and both are due tomorrow. I really don't want to stay here all night." Eric let out a sigh.

"Chaeyeong, why do you stay here if people are treating you so bad that it makes you cry?" Chaeyeong looked up, staring at Eric with her puffy eyes.

"You know why," said Chaeyeong in firm tone, "my family needs the money."

"Yes, I know that," said Eric, "but no one is telling you to quit this job before having something else. At least look for another job."

"It's not that simple, no one can guarantee I can find such a well paid job again," explained Chaeyeong, "so just stay out of this, I will handle things on my own."

"I can't just 'stay out of this', I worry about you, Chaeyeong," said Eric and took a step closer to her.

"I don't care, I don't need your pity," said Chaeyeong and got up from her chair, walking towards the door to show Eric the way out, "so just stop worrying about me."

"I can't stop worrying about you!"

"Yes you can, just forget about it!"

"I can't just do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because!"

"Why. Not?"

"BECAUSE!"

"WHY?"

"BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU!"

Chaeyeong stared at Eric who seemed to finally realize what he had said and looked like someone who wished he could burry himself the same instant. Nobody said anything, both of them just stayed in the same spot, staring at each other while time seemed to have stopped around them, trying to drag the awkward atmosphere on for as long as possible.

But time hadn't stopped, it kept moving forward and this became evident when the door to the office opened and made both Chaeyeong and Eric jump in surprise, while the three colleagues of Chaeyeong entered.

"What is this, a visit from your boyfriend?" asked the shorter woman while winking, making Chaeyeong draw back, walking further away from Eric.

"No... just a friend... and he was just about to leave..." Eric looked at Chaeyeong, wishing to say something or at least take back what he had said, but all he could do was watch her go back to her desk and open her computer.

He didn't want to leave it at this, he didn't want to part this way. He had to do something, say something. All these thoughts kept going through Eric's mind and he had almost gathered up all his courage to walk up to Chaeyeong, when a short, plump man, with very little hair on his head, entered the office, walking towards Chaeyeong.

Watching the change in Chaeyeong's behavior, Eric came to the conclusion that the man in front of her was her boss, and he quickly made his way out of the office, before he made anything worse for her.

After leaving the office and entering the elevator to reach the entrance of the building, Eric stood alone in the metal stool, leaning against the back of it while exhaling loudly.

"I am an idiot!"  

Hello everyone!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and enjoyed finding out why Eric said he messed up. I am excited to show you more of these two in the future, so look forward to that.

Remember to stay warm and eat healthy and take care of yourself. Stay safe. Also, don't forget to leave a comment down below.

Love, Annalise~