Chapter 26 - An Unexpected Visit

When I finished my sentence like a machine, it hit me that I had quit my job. Before I could correct myself, however, words poured out from the phone. 

“You told me to go through you if I had something to say! What’s going on? Why is Keith dating that harlot? He dumps me, then proceeds to date that goddamn wench?”

It must have been published on the news somewhere. While I was still working, it was my ritual to read the news and skim the articles first thing in the morning. Since that day, however, I had just been lying in my bed all day, and I didn’t know at all.

I replied calmly, “As far as I’m concerned, his relationship with you has been cleanly severed, Miss Elisa. You signed the paper, no? You agreed not to get involved in Mr. Pittman’s personal life.”

“That was before he started screwing around with Abigail. Why did it have to be that wench? In what way am I lacking compared to her? Tell me now!”

She was pretty much going berserk. I suddenly became curious; was Elisa so angry because her pride had been hurt, or was it because she was still hung up on Keith?

Whatever her reason, it had nothing to do with me.

“Miss Elisa,” I began as she paused to collect her breath. “I understand what you’re trying to say, but there’s nothing I can do. I resigned from my job.”

“What do you mean there’s nothing you can—Wait, what?” She came to a sudden halt. “You quit? Actually?”

“Yes, I did. A week ago.”

She was audibly flustered by my calm reply. She stuttered, “Well, um… W-what should I do, then? Who should I reach out to?”

Her attitude had become considerably more polite. Taken aback by this sudden change, I replied, “I’m not sure. You could try calling the company directly. There should be a staff member to answer your call.” That was all I could tell her. It wasn’t like I had the right to tell her Emma’s number.

She murmured, “Alright,” and hung up. She even apologized just before hanging up. I was surprised, but I had no time to stall. I quickly found Emma’s number and called her.

“Emma?”

“Oh, Yeonwoo! What’s going on? How are you?” she asked excitedly, but this wasn’t the time for idle greetings. I quickly jumped into business.

“Miss Elisa called. It seems like she has a huge problem with Mr. Pittman’s new date. It didn’t sound good, so please talk to her and calm her down.”

“Calm her down? Me?” she asked, clearly distressed.

I replied firmly, “This is also a part of your job, Emma. These kinds of things will continue to happen, so consider this your practice round.”

Emma feebly muttered a yes. I felt sorry for her, but it couldn’t be helped. If I hadn’t quit, I would’ve been the one to clean up after this mess. Just thinking about it, I no longer regretted forfeiting the high salary.

“Thanks for the heads-up, Yeonwoo.”

Just then, I heard the office phone ring from the other end of the line. It seemed like another secretary had answered the call, but it must have been a different call since they were talking calmly. I wished her luck and hung up.

When I returned home, I was feeling a little better. It finally hit me that I had actually quit. I would find a new job and forget about that day.

‘As time goes by, everything will be fine,’ I thought to myself.

I organized the contents of my refrigerator and fixed up some pasta for myself. I turned on the TV for the first time in a while, but there was nothing to watch. I switched the channels back and forth before settling with some boring sitcoms and competition programs to kill time with. Not long after, I headed to bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

My eyes shot open at the loudly ringing doorbell. I needed a bit more time to completely come to my conscious mind. I lay there, blinking in confusion. But all the while, the doorbell continued to ring obnoxiously.

“W-Who is it?” My voice trembled against my will. I looked at the clock, and it was way past midnight. I could think of no one who would come at this hour. A baseless fear stirred my mind. I stood frozen in the middle of my living room, unable to decide what to do. Just then, an unexpected voice echoed from behind the door.

“Open up. It’s me.”