CHAPTER 14: UNEXPECTED TROUBLE

The next morning, Evelyn woke up early in the morning with an intention of preparing breakfast for Dayun. 

She was blaming herself for his condition and wanted to do the least she could do for him until his hand got better. 

After completing her daily ordeals, She carefully began to make breakfast for Dayun, worried about his injury. 

While cooking, conflicting thoughts started gushing inside her mind which put her in a turmoil. ''Would it be fine to knock at his house so early in the morning? He must be tired from yesterday's commotion. What if I disturb his sleep? And what if he doesn't like the food I'm preparing for him?''

But a part of her still wanted to see him. So she decided to go and check on him. 

As she hesitantly knocked at his door, no response came from inside. But after a few seconds, her heart started racing as she heard the footsteps approaching towards the door. 

She prepared herself to face him by correcting her expressions. The door opened with a low creak sound. 

Her cheeks gone red after seeing Dayun standing in front of her, shirtless, and in a half asleep state. His abs were quite prominent with a warm undertone. 

His silky hair was a mess and his injured hand was exposed without any bandage over it. 

He had the image of a dragon in the shape of the letter 'A' being tattooed over the skin of his neck and some old scars marks on his chest. He was wearing his usual cologne. 

Evelyn noticed that he was wearing an amulet in his forearm, which resembled the one which she used to wear during her high school days. He seemed to be startled by her sudden presence. 

He sleepily rubbed his eyes and looked at her with a soft expression. She couldn't help but feel her heart race at the sight of him.'Eve-Chan?' he exclaimed in his hoarse voice. 

She tried to hide the gush of emotions which was storming in her heart by putting on a facade of calmness. 

EVELYN: G.. good morning, Dayun-sshi (gently smiles at him) sorry to disturb you so early... but I prepared breakfast for you. 

DAYUN: (Slightly surprised and looks at the tray in her hands) That's so nice of you, Eve-Chan.. but I really don't have an appetite right now. 

EVELYN: Ohh! That's totally fine. You can eat it later. Just tell me whenever you are hungry. I'll make it again for you. 

DAYUN: Thanks, Eve-Chan and....sorry to decline the breakfast you have made for me after waking up so early. (Smiles politely)

EVELYN: It's alright, Dayun-sshi. You just need to focus on your recovery. Until then, you could rely on me if you need help with anything. Please take care (turns to leave)

She hurriedly rushed to her apartment and took a sigh of relief after closing the door behind her. 

Her face had gone red as she had never seen a man's body that up close.. Not even Alan's. Though he refused her offer politely yet she was feeling bad and guilty for disturbing his sleep. 

After an hour, she got ready for the office. It was 7:25 in the clock and was still 30 minutes early from her usual time to reach there. 

She stepped outside of her apartment, and made her way towards the elevator, but saw dayun coming out of his apartment. 

She was startled to see him and was about to greet him but froze in the midway after seeing a girl coming out with him. She was holding hands with him and he didn't seem to care about it. 

They were busy talking with each other so Evelyn didn't feel right to meddle in their conversation and quickly entered the elevator. 

Evelyn pressed the button to the ground floor but before the lift door could be closed fully, Dayun stretched his hand in between the door which made it wide open. 

DAYUN: Hey, fancy seeing you here. I didn't expect you to meet you early today? Anyways, This is my friend Cassie. (Enter the lift together)

EVELYN: Hello, I'm Evelyn Noran. Nice to meet you (smiles lightly and greets Cassie)

Cassie nonchalantly nodded her head to Evelyn and turned back to Dayun, ''Honey, what are today's plans? You had promised to treat me in a fancy restaurant the last time we met'', she whispered to Dayun in a cute and seductive tone. 

Evelyn couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy as she watched Cassy and Dayun interact. She was beautiful and confident, someone who could easily steal his attention from her. 

She was feeling uncomfortable as she stood there and tried to ignore the two of them whispering sweet nothing to each other. 

Meanwhile, she noticed that Dayun's injured hand, which was exposed earlier, had been bandaged properly now. ''That girl must have done his dressing. And there he was, sulking last night when i took him to the doctor's.'', she thought to herself. 

Dayun softly scolded the girl ''You must properly greet others, sorry Eve-chan (smiles nervously).'' 

CASSIE: what did you just call her? Eve-Chan? (Laughs loudly) Oh god! My stomach, now that's so out of your style (gives him a suspicious look and grabs his arm)

Her heart sank as she watched Cassy snuggle up closer to Dayun, feeling like she had no place in his life. But she couldn't shake off the feeling that Cassy was manipulating Dayun for her own gain. 

Meanwhile, Evelyn's phone began to ring. With a sigh of relief, she took up the call- ''Hey Max, ya i know.. We are going to celebrate today. Don't worry, i won't be late. In fact, I'm on my way. Hm..see you in the office today (smiles lightly and hangs up the call). 

Dayun's expressions turned serious seeing her smiling so much while talking on the phone. The lift doors got opened with a beep sound as the elevator hit the ground floor. 

EVELYN: ''I..I'll be going first (bows and exits the lift first). 

She hurriedly tried to leave but Dayun called her out- ''Eve-chan (she turns back), have a nice day at work (smiles gently). 

She smiled back at him and left. 

The moment she left, Dayun impulsively pulled out his arm from Cassie and glared at her- '' I told you to call me by my name in front of others, didn't I? '' warned her. 

CASSIE: ''So what's wrong in it when we are already hooked up. And by the way, I'm the one who is offended here (angrily crosses her arms) you never even said my name affectionately but you already have such a cute name for that girl. (Grabs his collar and stares intensively in his eyes) Listen Mr. Artist! Try to double- cross me and I'll haunt you until your death, understand''

After a brief pause, Dayun softly took the hold of her hand by which she was holding his collar and gently kissed it. 

He tried to hide his frustration by putting a fake smile on his face. ''Do you think I'll ever do it. Sweetheart, You know I love you more than anyone else. I just don't want others to think how immature we are to be so lovey dovey in public. And others would just be envious to see our relationship. That's why I wanted to hide it. But I apologise if that made you mad (makes a gloomy face)

''No, I'm sorry, honey. I misunderstood you. I promise I'll listen to everything you say and be a good girlfriend. (Smiles and hugs him passionately) I love you.''- the girl exclaimed in excitement. 

''I love you too sweetheart'', he nonchalantly hugged her with his mind still filled with the thoughts of Evelyn. 

While being on her way, Evelyn was still feeling uneasiness. Her heart couldn't resist the envious feelings wavering inside her on seeing Dayun with another girl but that couldn't exactly be concluded that she had fallen for him. 

Her conflicting emotions put her mind in a state of dilemma. Might that just be an attraction because he had saved her so many times in the past that it made her dependent on him. 

She was feeling guilty to bring breakfast for him by ignoring the fact he would have his own family and friends to care about him. She knew that she didn't have any right to meddle in his life. 

So, she decided not to get too involved with him after seeing that he had his own friends to take care of him. 

As she walked into the office, she felt everyone's gaze on her but Maxwell greeted her with a smile which put her mind at ease. 

She couldn't help but feel anxious as she made her way towards his desk, avoiding any eye contact. 

MAXWELL: Finally you are here. What took you so long. I've been waiting for half an hour. (Whispers)

EVELYN: Sorry Max, something came up. But what's with everyone. It feels like they are talking about me behind my back. 

MAXWELL: Is it so? (Frowns and takes a peek outside of his desk) But I don't think they are. It must be in your head. Anyways, today's the launch day of our game (nervous). Just focus on it right now. 

EVELYN: I guess you are right. I'm so nervous that i can't tell you. I hope it will be a success. 

MAXWELL: So am I, Eve. But I have faith in our hard work and skills. Let's make this launch a success. (Flashes a smile)

With a confident demeanor but a nervous mind, Maxwell and Evelyn head to the conference room for the launch presentation. 

She saw that her whole editing team was present in the hall in order to show their support, but what spoiled her mood was Alan sitting there with a nasty expression on his face. 

Other staff along with the CEO and the director were also present there, to hear their presentation which made her more nervous. 

Out of nervousness, she became stiff and began to bit her lips, out of habit. 

She whispered to Maxwell, ''what in the world is the CEO doing here? Max, i don't think I can present the ppt in front of him.'' 

Max hastily took her little hands in his palms and told her to take deep breaths. ''Hey! Don't panic, okay. It's just a 10 minute presentation, nothing else. Just avoid eye contact with the CEO and if that doesn't work, just keep on looking at me.. I'll never let you down.'' (smiles)

His words gave her enough courage to face the people in front of her. She could feel her heart racing as they started the presentation, trying her best to hide her nervousness. 

Unfazed by the CEO's gaze on her, she continued maintaining the eye contact with everyone in the room, especially with Maxwell who was sitting in the last row, calmly and patiently looking at her and just like that, she confidently put on her preparation on the show. 

She took a sigh of relief after finishing her part of the presentation. She noticed Alan looking at her with a small smirk on his face, as if mocking her, how bad her presentation was. But she ignored him by turning her eyes to Maxwell who was confidently finishing the remaining part of the presentation. 

She couldn't help but feel relieved and proud at the same time as Maxwell finished the presentation flawlessly. 

However, when she thought that it was over and they had got the approval for their project, the CEO broke her line of thoughts and said- ''Ms Noran and Mr Wuber, Nice efforts, but you missed the most important point in your presentation.''

Maxwell and Evelyn nervously looked at each other. 

He continued- ''where do you see your game in the future? Do you have any backup plans in case it wouldn't be as successful as you have estimated?'' 

His words made both them put them on in a turmoil and they began to doubt their hardwork.

The CEO's words had shaken her to the core. As she looked over at Maxwell, she could see the fear in his eyes as well. 

They exchanged worried glances, both knowing that their future hung on the success of that game.

The director's voice broke their eye contact- ''Don't worry, we have no intention of disapproving your game. We know you have put too much effort into it. But Mr. Lee is just concerned about your future. He doesn't want your hard work to go in vain that's why he is curious to know about your back up plans in case your game doesn't exceed your expectations''

Evelyn could see Maxwell's shoulders relax as the director reassured them. ''sir...we still haven't thought much about it but we assure you that this game will be a hit but if not then we would come up with a solid backup for it. Sir, we request you to trust us and give us your approval if you find it worthy.'' Maxwell replied. 

After hearing him out, the CEO half heartedly gave them the approval but also announced that in case they wouldn't be able to gain up to 1Million downloads with at least 10% active daily players within a week, then he would be taking in a new member as the head of their gaming project. 

Just when she thought it was over, the CEO's words made her world come crashing down. That game was not only important for her career, but she was in a tight spot to pay the tuition fees for her brother. Failure was not an option.

After the meeting ended with that unexpected disclosure from the CEO, they bowed in gratitude and left the room together. 

As they walked out of the conference room, she tried to remain calm, but deep down she was terrified.

''How could I possibly meet those expectations? How could I save my job and my brother's future?''- All those thoughts were popping inside her mind. 

Suddenly, she felt Maxwell's hand on her shoulder- ''Relax, don't think too much about it. They say hard work always pays off. At least, we got the approval of the game, it's time to celebrate. Cheers up! Don't let our excitement go down. (Smiles brightly)

Maxwell's reassuring smile gave her a ray of hope. He was like a silver lining in her gloomy life. She was always grateful to have someone like him by her side. 

She thanked him but several doubts were still lingering in her mind. They planned the launch after lunch break and later to celebrate it in the evening.