Kim Sora POV,
January 20, 2020,
"Oenni, oenni, the government has found one Corona virus case in Seoul," Aeri shouted at me
"Jinjja?", I said as I walked towards the reception desk
Aeri turned the TV volume up so all of us could hear the news. Yunsu, Eunso and Ara also rushed to the reception desk.
"The patient is a 35-year-old woman who lives in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. The patient has been experiencing several symptoms since January 18, 2020. When she arrived in Incheon on January 19, 2020, the patient was detected to have a fever and flu, so immediately was rushed to the hospital for further examination. This morning the team of doctors stated that based on the results of the tests that had been carried out, the patient tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The police and the government were tracing with whoever the patient had interacted with while in Wuhan until arriving at Incheon airport " , said the newsreader on television
"Oh my God", said Eunso
"I'm sure that in a few weeks this virus will definitely spread around the world quickly. Currently in China is the Chinese New Year holiday, many of them are traveling abroad," said Yunsu with a serious face.
"I hope we can control this virus so that not many people get infected," said Ara I
I bit my lip while staring at the pictures that kept changing on television. In the past month, we have encountered a lot of news regarding this Wuhan virus. To be honest I'm a little worried about this situation, I can't imagine what the social and economic situation would be if this virus spreads in Korea.
"We must always maintain our personal hygiene from now on. According to the news I heard, this virus can easily be transmitted from physical contact, such as shaking hands or touching," said Sossa, who had just joined us in front of the television
"We shouldn't panic too much, we don't know what it will be like in the future. We just trust the government to handle this virus", I told them
They nodded their heads together.
"Annyeong", a deep male voice heard from the entrance
We were all shocked and looked at the voice direction.
"Annyeong, welcome to Minerva", said Aeri, standing swiftly behind the reception desk
"Mmm..are you open?", He asked hesitantly to see us gathered
"Ye. We are already open. Please scan your card", said Aeri kindly
Sossa, Ara, Yunsu and Eunso bowed to the tall man and walked away from the reception desk to return to their jobs. I smiled at him then turned off the television.
"You came early, Ray ssi", said Aeri to the visitor
"Ye. I have work today, so I came early", said the man while scanning his membership card
"Have a nice day", said Aeri with a friendly smile
When the visitor was out of sight, Aeri sat on her chair and began to tidy up her desk.
"I've seen this man a lot during the past few weeks," I said, sitting beside her
"Ye, Oenni. He always came every day for almost two weeks. He said he just moved to this area. His name is Ray Lim, he works as a content writer at a marketing website. His job is very flexible and can be done anywhere, that's why he often comes here to work ", explained Aeri
"How do you know that information?, I asked in amazement
"Oenni, I like chatting with the visitors, don't you know? Sometimes they also tell me about their personal problems", she chuckled
"No wonder the visitors are very happy to spend time here, because you can be friends with them too", I said, smiling at her
"Ye, Oenni. I am very happy to work here because I can meet many people. They are unique individuals", she said again
"Gomawo, Song Aeri ssi for working hard all this time", I said patting her shoulder
"Ye, Oenni. Anyway, here are some letters and bills that came this morning," she said while handing me a stack of envelopes.
"Gomawo. Alright, I'll finish this in my room. Aeri~aah fighting!", I said as I left the reception desk with the envelopes
When I passed the reading area, I accidentally met the visitor's gaze, I nodded my head and smiled at him. I felt like I had seen his face somewhere. I shook my head, of course I've seen him, he always comes to Minerva every day, like Aeri said earlier.
When I arrived at my office, I immediately turned on my cellphone. I looked for a message from Namjoon, but it seems he hasn't read my message before. Maybe he's rehearsing or shooting something right now, I thought.
Two days ago, BTS left for Los Angeles to attend and perform at the Grammy Awards later this month. Namjoon said that he was very excited about the performance, even though they didn't get a full stage.
Namjoon is very busy, apart from practicing for their comeback show on a famous show in America, he and the other members also have to do interviews on radio, magazine and television. According to him, they will return to Korea in the middle of next month. I don't want to disturb him of course, but sometimes Namjoon keeps trying to call or videocall with me every day.
I turned off my cellphone screen and started opening the letters I had brought with me. There were several bills that came from suppliers, then there were phone, electricity and cellphone bills too. And the last is a white envelope that has no sender name or address.
No, not this envelope again!, I thought
Several times I received anonymous letters like this, both to Minerva and to my apartment. I opened the envelope slowly and took out a sheet of paper that had my name written in red ink.
I squeezed it and threw it straight into the trash can. It was always the same, only a sheet of white paper with my name written in red ink.
In Korea, writing your name in red ink is taboo. Because it can make you suffer, have a bad luck, and even death.
I know it's just superstition, but still, seeing my name written in red ink made me feel uncomfortable. Why would anyone do this? Does he really hate me so much that he expects something bad to happen to me?
Even now, the police have not found the perpetrators of the previous incidents. I'm pessimistic they will find a bright spot in this case. I turned my gaze to my ringing cell phone.
"Yeobosseyo Sunmi~aah", I replied
"Sora~aah, have you seen the news this morning? The first case has been found in Seoul!", Said Sunmi
"Ye, I've seen it", I said while playing with the crescent moon pendant around my neck
"I hope no Korean citizen gets infected. I have to cancel my trip to Guangzhou this week because the number of infected people is already more than 500 there. I really hope things don't get worse", said Sunmi in an anxious voice
"Calm down, Sunmi. Don't be panic", I said trying to calm her down
"Yes, I hope for the best, it looks like it will be difficult to be able to travel to China in the near future," she said
Sunmi has some business partners in Guangzhou. They produced several accessories for Sunmi's previous collections.
"Is your production delayed because of this?", I asked
"Ne, of course. There are some items that I really need to complete my upcoming spring collection. But I think I have to cancel the delivery too because surely the packages from and to China will be blocked. Immigration authorities fear the packages will be a tool for transferring viruses. Aahh! I'm so mad, Sora, I have to find new suppliers soon ", said Sunmi in despair
"Be patient Sunmi, calm yourself. There will definitely be a way out", I said again
We continued talking about this for 15 minutes, then she suddenly asked about the progress of the police investigation about my case.
"There is still no way out, the police also seem to be in trouble", I replied
"What about the letter with your name on it? Did you also report it?", Asked Sunmi curiously
"I reported it when I first got it, but the letters I received afterwards I never reported, because I immediately threw them away", I replied
"Did the police find something from the letter? Fingerprints? Dna?", She asked again
"No. Nothing," I muttered
"I do not believe this. Is it that difficult to find the culprit?", She said irritably
"It seems so ..", I replied
"Anyway, do you want to have lunch with me? We haven't visited the cafe in Gangnam yet, right? Let's have lunch there Sora ?!", said Sunmi
"okay. I'll pick you up later then", I replied
"Yes, See you later Sora~aah!", Said Sunmi excitedly before hanging up the phone
I chuckled as I put my phone back on the table.
Then I finished my work until it was 11 o'clock in the afternoon. I turned off my computer screen and got ready to have lunch with Sunmi.
"Aeri~aah, I'm going to have lunch", I said when I arrived at the reception desk
"Ye, oenni", she replied briefly
As I walked to my car, I saw a man named Ray getting into a silver Hyundai Tucson parked near the highway.
Wait! I seem to often see the car, even this morning I saw it in the parking lot of my apartment. I shook my head, "no, it could be different car".
I started driving my car slowly, not forget to turn RM's Mono to accompany my trip. When I got to the traffic light intersection, I looked my rearview mirror and noticed that the hyundai was moving behind me too. I shrugged my shoulders, there are a lot of cars like that, I thought. I drove straight to Myeongdong to pick up Sunmi at the shop.
"Sunmi~aah, I've arrived", I called her
3 minutes later I saw Sunmi walking towards my car.
"Annyeong", she said happily
"Annyeong", I replied
"Mianhae, sorry for making you wait", said Sunmi while sitting beside me and wearing a seat belt
"Gwaenchana. Where is the address of the restaurant?", I asked, turning on my car GPS
"Let me type it", said Sunmi, then began to enter our destination addresses
"Kajja", she said
I started walking towards Gangnam. The restaurant we are going to visit is called Muiko, a restaurant that serves Korean-Japanese-European fusion food.
Me and Sunmi are really excited because this restaurant looks very comfortable and also gets a pretty high rating on Naver. When we arrived, it turned out that this restaurant is having a comfortable ambiance, the foods are delicious too.
Sunmi and I ordered some food for us to eat together. We spent 1.5 hours at this restaurant. When I got back to the car, I saw a silver hyundai tucson car parked across from this restaurant. I frowned and slowly entered the car.
"What's wrong Sora~aah?", Asked Sunmi, looking at me
"I feel like someone is watching me," I replied, looking into the rearview mirror
"Huh? Watching you? Where?", Asked Sunmi looking around
"I don't know. Is this just my feeling or is that silver car always there wherever I am?", I asked biting my lower lip while watching the silver car across the road
"Jinjja? Are you sure? That hyundai car is very popular because it has just released the latest edition. Are you sure it's the same car?", She asked, looking at the car
"I'm not sure", I said, shaking my head and starting my car engine
While on the way, Sunmi was still looking in the rearview mirror to see if the car was really following us.
"Since when did you realize it, Sora?", She asked again
"I don't really remember. I just remember that every time I leave the apartment there is always a silver Tucson car parked not far from my car," I said
"Maybe one of the car owners lives in the same apartment tower as you Sora~aah," said Sunmi, laughing
"Haha yes .. maybe. Damn! why am I being paranoid like this", I said laughing too
During the trip we did not discuss it again. We are talking about BTS who will be performing at the Grammys this weekend.
I took Sunmi back to her shop then I went back to Minerva. I continued my previous job, which was checking Aeri's weekly report and completing the payment of the bills that had entered today.
* tring
I glanced at my cellphone and continued typing e-mails for suppliers. It's already 8 PM, I intend to finish my work as soon as possible.
"Done!", I said while pressing the send button on my computer screen
I stretched my arms, my body felt sore because I sat at the computer for almost 5 hours. I walked to the refrigerator to get a can of juice. I took my cell phone from the table and carried it to the sofa.
"Jagi ..", I said excitedly when I saw the message from him
I put down my drink then opened the message.
"Annyeong jagiya~ ... I'm sorry for just replying to your message. I just woke up, it's 6 am in LA. Last night we practiced until past midnight, I was so tired that I fell asleep right away without replying to your message. Today we will shoot carpool karaoke, followed by an interview with a radio station. How are you, jagiya~? I miss you so much! So so much !! ", the message from Namjoon
I smiled reading the message, I miss him too. I turned on the video button and started recording myself.
"Annyeong jagiya~... I'm fine, I really miss you too! Right now I'm in Minerva, but I'll going home soon. Jagiya~ take care of your health, I'll be waiting for you, Fighting !!", I said while waving at the camera
Then I sent the footage to Namjoon, I hope it will make him even more excited. After that I went from my office to the first floor. I headed to the coffee shop to order coffee.
"Noona, this is your order", said Minhyuk while giving me a glass of cold vanilla latte
"Gomawo yo", I replied smiling and accepting the glass
"Are you going home Sora ssi?", Asked Hansol
"Ye, soon, oppa", I replied after taking a sip of my drink
"You're okay, right?", He asked again
"Ne," I replied, nodding and smiling at him
"If there is something, don't hesitate to tell us. We will definitely help you", he said again like a brother who was worried about his younger sister.
"Ye, oppa. Thank you for worrying about me", I replied
"Oenni, when will your boyfriend come here again?", Suddenly Sossa came over to me
"Uh?", I replied looking at her
"So what if Noona's boyfriend comes? It has nothing to do with you," Minhyuk said to Sossa
"I just want to know him. Oenni, why don't you introduce your boyfriend to us?", Asked Sossa again
"He's working right now, I can't even meet him", I replied nervously
"Noo, too bad .. he seems like a kind and caring man, oenni. I'm glad you got a man like that", said Sossa again
"How do you know that?", Hansol asked her
"Me and Ara eonni have seen him, oppa. When he came, he immediately approached Sora oenni and knelt in front of her... so romantic! And he seems to be handsome too, even though I don't see his face. But he is very tall, oppa and looks very cool, right, Oenni? ", Said Sossa excitedly
"Aish you. Never look up to someone else's boyfriend", said Minhyuk again
"Haha gwaenchana", I said laughing seeing Sossa's frowning face
I left Sossa and Minhyuk who were still fighting at the coffee shop and walked towards the reception desk. So they did pay attention to Namjoon at that time. Luckily no one recognized him at that time.
"Yunsu~aah, where is Aeri ssi?", I asked when I saw Yunsu at the reception desk
"She's on the toilet, noona", he replied
I nodded and sat on the chair beside him.
"How was your day, Yunsu~aah?", I asked
"Fine, noona. Fun as usual", he replied
"I'm happy to hear it", I replied, sipping my coffee
"Noona, can I ask you something?", Yunsu asked suddenly
"Ye, what is it?", I said looking at him
"Mmmm ... a tall man, with glasses and always wearing a mask, is your boyfriend?", He asked
"Huh?", I said raising my eyebrows
"Looks like he is not just ordinary man, I felt a strong aura when I standing face to face with him. It seems he is also handsome and smart. There is something about him that amazes me", he said while imagining something
"Jinjja?", I said
"Ye. Is he a public figure, noona? An Actor? A Singer ??", he asked curiously
"Whoaaa jinjja? Do you think that my boyfriend is a famous person?", I asked again
"Ye", he replied solemnly
I chuckled and shook my head, "aniyo, you are nonsense".
"Jinjja? So your boyfriend isn't famous? Or is she a politician? Or a CEO of a company? Yeah, I think he's a CEO," said Yunsu, still coolly talking to himself
"Never mind Yunsu~aah, why are you talking about that. I'll go home now," I said, patting his back and leaving
"Noona, you haven't answered my question!", He shouted
Why are my employees talking about Namjoon all of a sudden? Is it too obvious? I shook my head nervously. As I walked to my car, I thought about it again. It seems my employees are starting to notice that Namjoon visits me frequently in Minerva. Was there another visitor who accidentally saw us and recognized him? Shouldn't we have met at Minerva again ?.
My mind was so filled with these questions that I didn't realize I had arrived at my apartment. I didn't get out of the car right away. I checked my surroundings, to see if the Tucson silver car was nearby or not.
Impossible! I saw the car parked at the corner of the driveway. I have to make sure, I thought. I checked my bag and felt calmer when I saw the pepper spray and the stun gun in it.
I carried my handbag and walked towards the silver car. One of my hands is in the bag, tightly gripping the pepper spray. I walked briskly while looking around me. I feel my hands start to sweat.
"What are you doing Sora~aah, are you crazy?!", I said to myself, when only a few meters away from the silver car
The car engine starts, indicating there is someone in it. I knocked on the driver's window and waited.
"Ye", the face of a middle aged woman appeared from behind the driver's window
"Annyeong", I said, smiling nervously
"Ye, can I help you?", she asked confused
"Uh, sorry, mmm...I thought this is my friend's car. Uh, do you live here?", I asked holding my breath
The woman looked at me with an annoyed look before answering, "Ne, of course I lived here. I'm waiting for my son, he's still on the way. And this is my car, not everyone has a car like this", she replied curtly.
"Arasso, I'm sorry Mam, I ... I thought this was my friend's car. I was waiting for him, maybe you know him, he..uh, he lives here too", I stammered
"Do you think I know everyone who lives here? Ask the security guard, you are wasting my time", she said as she closed her car window.
"Ye. I'm sorry", I bent down and immediately ran towards the lobby door
"Sunmi is right, there are a lot of cars like that. I'm so stupid", I muttered softly as I pressed the elevator button.
"At least I know that no one is following me. It's just my feeling all this time," I said again trying to calm myself and immediately go to my apartment