Chapter 78 - A Sudden Visit

“You should’ve told me earlier. I’ll look into it this afternoon. Do you happen to need anything more? Which hospital does she go to?” I asked.

The hospital that Emma told me about was a kidney care hospital. I quickly learned from the words that followed that her mother was receiving dialysis treatments.

“We’re waiting for a transplant, but as you know… It’s not that easy,” Emma sighed. Even though she was younger than me, it suddenly felt as if she had aged rapidly. I felt sorry that she had to worry about these things alone.

“Do you have any other family? A younger sibling, maybe?” I hoped that she had someone to rely on. Thankfully, she nodded.

“I do have an older brother. He used to live in Boston, but he recently got a job nearby and moved here. Thanks to Josh, we were able to pay off the immediate medical fees.” Emma seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, but she soon added nonchalantly, “He’s a bodyguard, but he’s such a casanova. He used to have girls around him all the time, but he’s pretty quiet these days. Commendable, I’d say.”

“Oh my,” I laughed briefly at her gentle slander that was only possible between family members. In any case, it was good that she had a family to rely on. Eating Emma’s sandwich with sparkling water, we chatted about this and that.

“On a different topic, Yeonwoo… It seems like you’re always coming to and leaving from work with Mr. Pittman as of late. Am I right?” asked Emma carefully. When I hesitated, she hurriedly continued, “I’m sorry if I overstepped the line. I heard from Jane that she saw you leaving work with Mr. Pittman in his car. So we’ve all been worried that maybe your health is in a worse state than we thought.”

They must all have known about this for quite a while now. It felt weird to hide it or come up with any excuses at this point. I admitted honestly, “It’s just as you thought. I’ve been having a bit of trouble commuting to and from work, so we decided that I’d be staying at Mr. Pittman’s place until my situation gets better.”

“Oh my, really?” Emma covered her mouth with her hand in surprise. Her reaction was quite unexpected—perhaps because she still had her doubts. “Will you be all right, Yeonwoo? Why don’t you consider temporarily hiring a professional caregiver? We also have one coming twice a week for my mother. I could look into it for you.”

The reason for her concern followed right after.

“Having to commute to and from work with your boss… What kind of nightmare is that? Going home from work wouldn’t even feel like going home. The terms of working outside of your hours must also be quite unclear. What’s more is that doing odd jobs for him here and there basically means that you’ll have to do things for him all day until you go to bed.”

Moreover, it was Keith we were talking about. I could completely understand what Emma was imagining. It was a natural reaction. I was already doing everything that she was concerned about. To be exact, there was no boundary between my work time and personal time.

Of course, I was aware of all the drawbacks. Nobody in this world would want to commute with their boss.

However, I had no other choice. In some ways, this was exactly what I wanted. What I was worried about was something completely different.

Just then, Emma pointed out what I had in mind. “When girl problems come into play, it must be even more troublesome. Doesn’t Mr. Pittman call his partner over to his house as well?”

I couldn’t say anything in response to that. Even though there hadn’t been any such instances recently, if Keith changed his mind and started calling his partner to his house again, I would have to roam the garden like last time. To make matters worse, it was now winter.

“I’ll figure something out,” I murmured. That was all that I could say. However, even I didn’t have any confidence in my statement.

Would I be able to ignore it?

Despite all the unfair treatment, however, it was impossible for me to quit my job. Realities about money aside, I wanted to see that man even if this was what it took.

As I remained silent, Emma began apologetically, “I know I’m being nosy, but I’m just worried about you… Well, we’re friends.”

I smiled bitterly and nodded. “Yes, I know. Thank you for being worried about me.”

Emma wasn’t the type of person to spread unwanted rumors, and she was a very trustworthy colleague. That was why I was able to say something like that. Emma also smiled in relief.

“It would be nice if Mr. Pittman was a little more considerate… But we couldn’t expect that to happen, could we?” she said with transparent sympathy on her face.

I replied indifferently, “Still, Mr. Pittman isn’t such a bad boss.”

Workplaces were basically the same anywhere; I might as well focus on the good rather than the bad. Every time I wanted to quit, I thought of good things about my work.

I listed, “He never asks me for anything unreasonable, and he always makes sure to compensate me for my work. Whenever I do things well, he also acknowledges it.”

“Fair enough. All work bosses are pricks,” Emma agreed and nodded.

I corrected her. “There are some good people out there, but they’re quite rare. It’s also hard to find openings because people don’t want to quit such jobs.”

Emma burst out in laughter, even though I didn’t understand what was so funny about what I had said.

“Yes, that’s the problem,” she said as she stared at me with a remnant of her laughter. “Still, I’m grateful to have you as my superior. It was so hard trying to go along with Mr. Pittman’s temper. During that short time when you had quit… I’d never seen Mr. Pittman so angry, yelling and all. Who knew he had such a bad temper? Additionally, more tasks were piled onto my load.