Chapter 2

 

"Si, Entiendo... Ya veo. Es bueno haciendo negocios con usted... Si, si. Gracias, Senor Vasquez."

She gently pulled the wireless phone off her left ear and dialled another number. It rang. Once. Twice. Still no answer. She dialled it again. she sighed while impatiently tapping her fingers on the table.

Come on, pick up the phone.

She walks back and forth on the carpeted floor in her spacious office creating ticks from her four inch- black stillettos.

"Damn!" she cursed under her breath after the busy tone. She closed her eyes hard, removed her eyeglasses for a while and massaged the spaces in between  her eyes. She made a number of phone calls for the next hour while sitting on her swivel chair.

It's already past nine in the evening when she finished everything she has to do that day. As expected, no one is around. The whole building is empty except for the security personnel patrolling in and out the establishment. Main lights are turned off and the only sound she's hearing is the one made by her shoes.

Upon arriving at the basement, she walks toward her black Porsche, rode in and drove her usual speed. On her way to the elevator up to her condo unit in the fifteenth floor, her mobile phone rang. She ignored it til she gets in the elevator, opened her bag and answered the call.

"Good Evening. Yes?" Her normal, cold voice filled in the small space. She barely noticed the tall figure joining her in before the doors closed.

"Ma'am? Good Evening. It's Jana." Jana is her personal secretary. "I apologize for the bother this late. I was gonna tell you this tomorrow at the office, but I guess you need to know as soon as possible."

"Spill it out." She snapped sounding a little bored. Still on the fourth floor.

"Ma'am, we have a problem with Shin Motors. Mr. Shin's secretary called and told me they wouldn't push the collaboration with the company through."

She immediately gulped a gasp before it comes out. She paused for a second. "We'll talk tomorrow." She said with finality and turned off the phone. Tenth floor.

Another problem.

She eyed the person with her in the elevator when she feels eyes surveying her. She tilted her head and give him an annoyed, questioning look.

"What?" She asked in a cold, low voice after turning her head to the man. "Do you have something to say?"

The man seemed taken aback by her approach while faced flushed as if caught in an uncompromising manner. But he carried on and let out an amused laugh. He tried to hide it but it's noticeable, since the elevator itself is small and it has mirrored walls.

"Excuse me? What's so funny?" She asked in disbelief, trying to be calm. She can't believe she's being taken as a laughingstock by a stranger. It's a normal day for her, and normal days mean stress and nerve racking experiences. So being teased like this, whether intentionally or not, she goes irrational.

"I'm sorry, Miss.. I was just laughing to myself. By the way, I'm Seung Hyun. I live in the room on the fifteenth floor." He flashed an eager smile.

She glared at him, not really minding what her face looks like. She just put her arms on her chest and looked away. She's in no mood for jesting right now.

"Uhm.. I guess we'll be seeing each other from time to time since we live on the same floor. It's nice to finally talk to you, even when... you just said twelve words." He gave her another beam. This time, a high- spirited one.

Fifteenth Floor.

Finally.

She totally ignored the guy and rushed out of the elevator while looking for her keys in her bag. Before she knew it, her right heel tripped on the elevator's door rail and almost fell down the floor when strong arms caught her waist.

"Gotcha."

She immediately straightened her poise, glanced at the guy, and walked away before the guy says something else. This time, she seems much more cautious and slowly walk than she normally does. For a minute, she thought she must've been rude to that person. After taking few steps ahead, she turned back to the guy, who's surprisingly still on the place she left him on. The guy smiled, as if trying to get what her expression looks like.

She cleared and looked at his eyes. "Thanks." Still, she didn't respond to the smiles this stranger has been giving him.

His smile widened. And... did his eyes just sparkled? 

She shoved the thought. She must've been really tired. She continued to walk, proceeded to her condo door and put the key in the keyhole.

She slept at around 11 pm and woke up the next day at five am. She didn't even remembered to have dinner last night.

She does her daily routine. Gargle . Take a bath. Prepare instant food and eat. Brush her teeth. Put on office attire and fix her hair in a bun. Put on light make-up. And, tucked in her dark-rimmed eyeglasses.

This is going to be one heck of a busy day. Just like the previous ones.

She left at exactly seven in the morning.

Upon arrival at the office, she quickly get on her swivel chair, called her secretary for a coffee, opened her laptop, and checked the files bulked on her table. In the next hours, she's oblivious of the time.

She hasn't forget to call Mr. Shin of the Shin Motors to talk about the problem in the business deal. Just as 12 noon struck, She dialled the official contact number of the company directing it to the CEO's executive secretary. She had the chance to talk to the CEO himself and discussed the predicament. After around fifteen minutes of phone conversation, they exchange farewell pleasantries. Still holding the phone, she slowly glided to the glass window overlooking the vastness of Los Angeles. She sighed.

Few minutes later, she heard the phone rang. She swiftly answered it thinking it might be a call from one of her business colleagues.

"Honey, Good Noon!" the voice in the line happily exclaimed.

"Oh, Good noon Mom," she put on a sweet smile for the best mother in the Earth, though her mom couldn't actually see it. She smiled for the first time since forever. Everyday's a tough day for her in the office.

It's been months since you last visited our home. What are you been up to? I missed you already. Please drop by our house on your way home tonight, hmmm?"

"Mom..."

"Nah-ah. I won't take no for an answer. I'll be waiting for you no matter how long you take yourself to be here tonight."

"Mom, I'm really busy these days.. I need to take care of something related to business tonight and..." She stopped when she heard a sigh. "Mom?"

"You're working really hard, I know you're doing such things to, uh..." she paused a bit.  "Honey, please let me have this as a favor..."

She sighed her deep sigh and bit her lower lip. "O-okay, Mom. I'll be there tonight." She managed to say it.

"Oh, thank you my child! You made this old woman very happy!"

She missed her mom, too. So much... And her father, too, even when she doesn't really make it a big deal. She hasn't been or even visited home for more than three months already. She has been distant to her father for almost all her life. Her father had always wanted a son for a child, but then, SHE was born. Her mother can't bear a child anymore since she was diagnosed with an ovarian cancer few months after her birth. They were sad, but then, her mom recovered faster than she thought. She devoted her time to take care of her and be there for her during her growing up stages. But... she doesn't know, her dad wasn't happy with a daughter he has. It was heart-breaking as a child.

And so she did everything to please her dad. She tried her best to get better grades in class and tried not to be clumsy even as a kid everytime her father is around. She made everything she had to do as perfect as she thought it should be. But... She closed her eyes and remembered some statements from the past.

"This family has no room for mistakes and weaklings."

"The best you thought you've given isn't the best in my perspective. You better do your best in my standards."

Her eyes mistied from the thought. I shouldn't be emotional. I'm tough. I'm no weakling.

"Honey, are you still there?" Her mom's voice on the other line wake her from the thoughts in the past. She managed to smile to herself and answered her mom.

"Uh, Y-yes mom.. Mom, I need to hang up, I'll be doing the project that I'm supposed to do tonight so I can come over early."

"Okay, then. See you tonight. I'll be preparing the best dinner for you. Oh, I'm so excited! Good bye!"

"Bye, Mom. See you..."

 

 

 

 

Hohohohoooo >_< I've finished another chapter!! Weeh.. it's the female lead's situation and it kind'a took me loooong to finish this. hihihi. I'm tweeting, reblogging on tumblr, posting in rocketboxx, chatting in facebook and watching ukiss videos while doing this chapter, so I felt good after this chapter was done. ^o^ *Sorry if it's just shoooort* >_<