Chapter 9: She is Hopeful
"Welcome back. Your smoke break was longer than usual," A tired growl from a fellow colleague welcomed Rowan back into the office.
"Thank you. I see that you still haven't left work yet," Rowan set down the bag, which he believed belonged to Ran, on his organized white desk.
"Yeah, I still have to finish up four more pages on this document then I'll finally be done," The coworker massaged his sore eyes as he loudly complained in the office room containing only Rowan, this man, and a few other overtime workers.
"But putting that aside," The coworker eyed the new item on Rowan's desk, "Did you go... shopping during your break?"
"Not exactly—" Rowan started to explain.
"Wait... I recognize that famous female brand written on the bag! You went shopping for your girlfriend? What the hell? How come you didn't tell me you had a girlfriend now?" The coworker cut in on Rowan's explanation and started to assume all the details.
The light in Rowan's eyes flickered momentarily as he calmed his coworker down with a pat on the back. He firmly shook his head. "I already informed you that I do not have a girlfriend. Moreover, this is something I accidentally stole from an acquaintance... no a friend?" He ran his fingers through his hair to conceal his embarrassment.
"You mean... friends with benefits?" His coworker's eyes shined mischievously as he teased Rowan by poking his well defined stomach muscles.
"Considering that my smoke break took longer than I expected, I will return to finishing the last TWO pages of my document," Rowan teased back, enjoying his coworker's pouty expression.
...
Ran ended up sleeping in until 2pm the next afternoon. She cursed when she looked at the late time and blamed it on the fact that she kept having an inconsistent sleeping schedule.
'And Ro is surely out of work at this time,' She dug her face in her pillow and pondered over what to do. She knows Rowan's apartment but not his room number. Wait... why was she complicating things so much? All she had to do was obtain his room number!
"Hopefully, that'll be easier said than done," Ran rolled her way out of bed and got dressed, an idea in mind.
...
Once Ran reached Rowan's apartment, she hesitantly approached the digital keyboard. She got a glimpse of the sequence when seeing the drunk Ro attempt various passwords before finally getting it right. She only carefully saw the first two of the three attempts and got a short glimpse at the last one before his body covered the digital keyboard.
First attempt: 0514 (It was Ro's birthday)
Second attempt: 0320 (Had no idea what this combination means. Perhaps someone's birthday?)
Third attempt: 09 (All Ran was able to get)
Ran was about to input her guess when suddenly... the door opened and a resident came walking out through the door. Ran stared dumbfounded at the opened door before dashing in.
"Lucky?" She stared back at the closing door with a grateful expression.
"I guess that was also another way to get in," Ran scratched her head in embarassment. Of course other people live here! She could have just waited until somebody walked out and take advantage of the door opening. There are countless of floors and countless of residents. It's only a matter of time before one of them decide to leave.
Lately, she felt her IQ deteriorate. Perhaps it's because of her inconsistent sleeping schedule and sufferings.
"Not good, stay positive... positive," Ran pressed the second floor. She'll start from there and ring every doorbell until she finds Rowan. Hopefully, he won't leave his apartment in the duration that she's there.
However...
Rowan was currently roaming the streets with a helpless expression. Ever since work ended, he returned home to take a quick nap and then began his search at 1pm. He's been trying to run into Ran on the streets. He's visited almost every street and building: the shopping district, the library, the small dining outlet, near his work building, and on. But he hasn't seen even a glimpse of her figure within the busy crowd.
Rowan's grasp on the bag's handle grew tighter as he didn't give up hope. He'll walk around until it was time for him to work. He stubbornly decided so.
Ran's hands formed into a fist as she pressed the fourth floor button on the elevator. She'll knock on every the door until she finds into him. She stubbornly decided so.
But neither of them knew that they would never run into one another with their current plan of action.
...
When Ran reached the fourteenth floor and rang the fourth door, she felt her heart drop after seeing who opened the door. That familiar long hair, her familiar perfume scent, her familiar smile made Ran ride the nostalgic train.
"Elysia?" She whispered her name quietly in shock.
"Who are you?" Elysia didn't hear Ran's whisper as she asked this question with her gentle, alluring voice.
Ran stood there for a moment dumbfounded. How come Elysia was living here?
"Babe," A man's voice called her from deeper inside the room, "Who's at the door?"
Ran's eyes glistened when she heard a stranger's voice call out for Elysia.
"It's nothing," Elysia softly replied, "I'll join you soon."
When Elysia turned her head back to look at Ran, Ran showed a small sad smile before apologizing to her. Elysia, though extremely confused, smiled back and closed the door on her. Once the door closed, Ran stayed motionless in front of the closed door, lost in her thoughts.
'Who was that man? Why is Elysia with him? What about Owner?' Ran fought against her urge to ring the doorbell and start questioning Elysia. However, Elly's blank eyes held Ran back. It reminded her of the empty eyes Owner showed to her the several instances they met. It was as if the adoring gazes they used to have for her never existed.
'No good I'm lamenting on the past,' Ran forced her feet to move away from the fourth door onto the next one. But her mind remained cloudy the rest of the time she spent inside that building.
...
By the time Ran finished ringing all the doors it was already dark out. Throughout her journey, she made a note on her phone specifying which rooms didn't answer her knocks. Perhaps Ro's room will be one of the three dozen rooms that either ignored her or contained nobody. She cursed while heading to the first floor. Of all the times, Rowan just had to be away from home. What happened to him having a late night shift? But then again, Ran didn't know the exact time he left for work, so she could have missed him.
She cried internally. How come when she didn't even want to see Rowan, he always appeared before her, but now that she's intentionally looking for him, he isn't appearing? 'My bad luck is killing me,' Ran left the apartment, the neighborhood and headed for the shopping district once again.
Since her interview was scheduled for tomorrow, Ran had no choice but to buy another set of formal clothes suitable for an interview. And when she sees Rowan, she'll curse him out for stealing her bag when he was drunk. Fortunately, the bag should contain her receipt, so she'll be able to return it.
"Your total will be 240," The cashier's words made Ran flinch. Her purchase was more expensive than last time, so she was crying internally again.
'That drunk better be prepared to face my wrath,' Ran handed the cashier her Dad's card and cursed inwardly. Though, it was also partially her fault that she didn't pay close attention to her surroundings, so she'll lighten Ro's punishment.
Nonetheless, she was still frustrated with Rowan, so she'll sneak in a few attacks the next time she sees him.
At the same time, Rowan was struggling to focus on his work. On his desk was a pitifully beaten up bag, and every time it got into Rowan's line of sight, he would sigh and stop working. It got severe to the point where his fellow colleague suggested that he should take an early smoke break.
"I cannot take a smoke break right now," Rowan would give the same response to his coworker. He wanted to finish work as soon as possible and find Ran. How come they hadn't exchanged phone numbers?
'I must also ask her for her number if I find her again,' Rowan decided as he tried focusing on his work again.
"Rowan," A man wearing glasses walked up to him and tapped his table, "Boss told me you're in charge of interviews tomorrow."
"Interviews?" Rowan frowned. He needed to find Ran not conduct some dumb interviews, "Will nobody else be willing to take that role?"
"Boss' words are always the rule," The man shrugged while turning away, unwilling to listen to Rowan any longer.
Rowan ruffled his hair in frustration. God, this interview better be worth his time.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
smitkims
smitkims Oh sweetheart, if only you knew what’s coming for you.
Also, if you guys didn’t know, I started a new novel called ‘Forget Me Not.’ The story & characters are really different from this novel, but I would appreciate it if you gave it a read!
Also, I’m uploading this 11:46 pm Wed lol I feel like I’m living on the edge every day.
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