Feng's POV
"Woah, this building looks so big in real", gawking up at the building, I admire its infrastructure for a good few minutes before making my way inside the magnificent piece of architecture.
"Can you please tell me what floor Alice works on?", after thinking highly of interior designs, I walk up to a woman sitting behind the counter.
"Floor 16, Sir", I thank her and takes the elevator to the said floor. I know she is going to get angry at me for coming here without informing her but how could I hold my restless mind until the night when she comes back. If she had listened to me yesterday and taken an off, she would not be coming here today in fever.
When the elevator door opens, I step out and continue walking. Being awestruck, I bump into the shoulder of someone.
"Oh my God! I'm so sorry. I didn't see you coming, I'm sorry", the man gives me a dimpled smile.
"It's okay", he voices out.
"But I'm sorry. I'm not the type of person to collide against someone else's universe. I got taken away while looking for my friend", showing me a contented smile, he assures me that he is okay.
"Who's your friend? I can help you look around", so nice of him. I might be lost my way here alone?
"Alice. She has got a fever. I insisted her call in off today but that dumb-headed is so stubborn", well, I shouldn't be going around bad-mouthing about Alice but I'm really angry with her.
"You're Alice's friend? I'm Bingwen. Her friend", Bingwen? Is he the one Alice mentioned about being friends with here?
"Nice to have a crash meeting with you, Bingwen", I giggle shaking hands with him. He chuckles back and asks me to follow him.
He takes me to floor six. On our way down to here, he told me how hard he tried to convince Alice to go back to her home since she was really not feeling okay but she kept refusing. This punk needs a lesson for sure! As we walked through the hallway, he stops outside a room when his phone begins ringing.
"Alice is inside. I've gotta go for something important", I nod in understanding and he left. Upon opening the door, I find files being scattered all over the floor. As I make myself inside the room, I see Alice leaning against one of the big lockers down on the floor with a file on her lap. Her eyes are closed. Is she sleeping in her office?
"Oh my...", I crouch down next to her.
"Alice, let's go home", cupping her face in my hands I speak gently, not to make her startled by my sudden presence.
"Just a few more minutes, Fennie", if only the place wasn't filled with silence I wouldn't get to hear her muffled, low-audible voice. Nonetheless, I sit next to her and rest her hand on my shoulder. That's the least I can do at the moment.
It took me quite a long time to erase the heinous incident from her memory. If it pops into my mind out of nowhere, it comes off like a chilly wind lifting the hair at the back of my neck. That day I promised myself to protect her at any cost.
Surviving in this world where winter brings a gift of Christmas, for people who walk erect having someone on their back, on the other hand, feeling of indignation at a particular event for people whose minds are painfully rented by the discriminatory wheel of commotion.
Alice had been falling in the latter for much of the time when we were in high school. It wouldn't be out of sense to say that she learnt how to be happy and walk her head up, even when her family abandoned her, from me. After meeting and knowing her, I learnt one thing; you cannot survive alone in this world.
You say you can. You're being deceived by the fake circumstances in which your mind is putting you. You say you've become strong enough to live on your own, with nobody by your side. You can't. You might be a four-square, strong-minded person but even the titanic sunk underwater.
Disregardless of how strong you may appear inside out, you just need someone by your side to cheer you up at your downtimes, to provide you with a shoulder to cry on when your heart gets heavy under the unbearable burdens, to get your back when you're about to fall, to celebrate your happiness. Everyone does need that someone in their lives.
"Junho st-", I don't know if I should be thanking the silence for being this silent to let me hear voices coming from outside. The door burst open revealing a young man suited in black attire. His dark demeanour alone can scare the word itself. After him, a man of much smaller height appears, pressing his lips tight together as if he has foreseen what shouldn't have happened and is going to happen.
"You must be Feng. Take Alice with you. She's probably not feeling okay", taking a step towards us, his voice comes out worried. Meanwhile, Alice's eyes shot open.
"Feng, what are you doing he-", seeing the confused expression on my face she follows my gaze only to flinch and stand on her feet.
"Mr Geon!", so this is Geon Junho. But why Alice is acting as if she has seen a ghost?
"After wreaking havoc on my today's schedule, you're getting a kick out of a sweet nap with your boyfriend? Never fail to surprise me, Miss Alice", did he just call me her boyfriend?
"Mr Geon, you must be mistaken. I'm not-", to clear the misunderstanding that's not the centre of tension at the moment, I get up only to be a target of his derisive laugh.
"You guys love fooling people around?", someone borrows me a brain because his words are flying over mine.
"Anyway, that's not any of my concerns. Both of you...", his finger is pointed at us as he says, "Out."
Borrow me your ears as well. I think his voice just deafened my ears. Why does he sound out of this planet?
"Mr Geon I know I shouldn't ha---but please I don't remember...wh--when I accidentally dozed off. I'm s-sorry", why is Alice stuttering? I believe this is just a misinterpreted scene by her boss.
"F*cking stop with your phoney sorries already!", I've seen many people losing their tempers but holy shit! This dead a*s just past all of them with his pierced, high pitched voice! He's so dead for raising his voice at Alice!
"Hey, Mr high-pitched, who gave you this damn right to talk to your employees like this?", no one, when I say no one it means not even a f*cking lion can roar at Alice like this! Only I can!
"The one who gave my employees daring spunk f*cking around in my office", I swear if we weren't standing under his roof or he wasn't Alice's boss, he would've been received a blow from my mighty fist by now.
"For your kind information, it's not us f*cking around here but your blind eyes f*cking with your rational, well, I highly doubt, mind", okay let's admit. I just stepped on the tail of a snake. If eyes could murder he would've become a killer now.
"I dare you to repeat what you said", despite being blind, he's deaf as well. Alice works for a blind, deaf sassy a*s. Superb!
"With all my pleasure", being the confident person I am, I give him a cheeky smile and open my mouth to resay my words for him when I feel a tight grip around my wrist.
"Feng, stop for f*ck sake", thanks a lot! This is my Alice! Cursing around in the most pissed off situations. But why she's asking me to be quiet? Just because this chowderhead is her boss, he can't go humiliating her.
"Wh-ouch", she really stomped on my foot under her snickers. Why is she wearing them? Is it allowed to not wear heels in the office? Oh, my stupid brain. It's not worth pondering right now.
"Feng was already leaving. Right, Feng?", grinding the teeth, she says in a bossy manner. Who's the boss here? And how can I leave her after knowing that she needs rest especially under this madman!
I look at Junho whose eyes I don't think has blinked for once ever since he has stepped inside this room. The gray-haired boy is standing in the same earlier trance.
"Please", I look back at her, her eyes pleading as a whisper leaving her mouth.
"Text me when you're done here. I'll pick you up", I lean in to give her a hug and left the room without seeing her reaction. I couldn't care more about the bastard boring his eyes into us. It's not like I work for him. Somebody get him a psychiatrist. He has serious issues. Sitting in my car, I left for home.