A long masculine hand stretched to the side of the bed to silence a buzzing phone.
When the phone started ringing again, a sigh escaped his lips as he opened his eyes groggily to check who was calling.
'Mrs Kang' Joel saw the caller's ID before the ring stopped.
His eyes cleared a bit, and when he looked around his room and noted it was already morning, his eyes shot wide open.
"Shit!" Joel cussed loudly as he rolled out of bed half naked, wearing only a boxer brief.
He was supposed to have an appointment but when he checked the time on his phone, he realised he was already an hour late for the meeting.
A lady stirred in the bed and slowly fluttered her eyes open to look at him.
"Good Morning Sunshine." She greeted with a smile on her face. "Guess we woke up really late" She giggled.
Joel did not bother to say a word or look at her. He hurriedly began to dress up while also dialing Mrs Kang's number to know why she was suddenly calling him in the morning.
"Good Morning Mrs Kang, sorry I was a bit busy and just saw your call" He lied immediately the call connected while also trying to fit his long legs inside his trouser pants with his butt sitting on the bed.
"No problem. I called to ask whether you've seen or heard from Anna?" She asked in a gentle voice.
"Anna? No, I haven't. Is something wrong?" He asked with a frown.
Whenever Mrs kang called like this to ask about Anna, it only meant one thing— she had run away from home.
"Oh. No biggie. Just let me know when you see her or hear from her okay?"
Joel could tell she was disappointed since she could not get any information from him. He wondered what this devil of a woman had done to her daughter again.
"Alright. No problem." He said and waited for her to end the call before dialing Anna's number in a hurry.
"Is something wrong baby? Who is Anna?" The girl on the bed asked as she sat up while using the duvet to cover her bare chest.
Joel turned to look at her and forced out a smile. "I have to hurry out sweetheart."
He moved closer to plant a kiss on the side of her cheek as he dailed Anna's number for the second time.
"Alright. You can leave. I'll see you later then" She said with an understanding smile.
Joel paused to look at her. It seemed she wasn't getting it.
"You have to get dressed" He pointed out.
But he had not expected her to relax her back fully on the bed. "I still need to sleep some more. When I'm ready to leave, I'll go. So who is Anna?"
Joel's frowned deepened. He turned his attention to his phone as he dialled Tom's number since Anna wasn't taking hers, but Tom also didn't take his.
"Damn it!" He yelled in anger before throwing his phone on the bed.
The lady flinched in shock and sat up once again. "What is wrong? Are you okay?"
"Get the hell up and go get dressed!" He demanded in a harsh and angry voice.
He wondered where the hell Anna was and what her family had done to her this early morning to make her leave home.
He had been with her the previous day; trying his best to console her after her so called boyfriend did not show up. Even though she had acted like she was fine, he knew she was deeply hurt. He had known her for a really long time to know how she truly felt.
Now she wasn't taking his call, Tom wasn't taking his, he didn't have Germany's number and even this lady was pissing him off. Why would he want her to stay in his house while he was out? Didn't he lay it out for her that he wasn't interested in anything serious with her?
"Fine Fine!" She said before raising her hands up in surrender. "I'll leave. You don't have to get all angry.. geez"
She glared at him before walking stark naked to the bathroom with her clothess in hand.
******************
Lisa did not know what to do. She had never begged anyone in her life. Or maybe she had, but she could not remember because it probably must have happened when she was still a little girl.
She was the one people begged. She was used to being begged, not the other way around.
That was why this situation was a bit challenging for her. What else was she supposed to say to Mr Hwang? She knew barely kneeling down would do nothing. If not, she wouldn't have gotten rid of almost all the people she had gotten rid of because they had also knelt down to beg for their lives sincerely.
So what was she supposed to do?
She was already angry as it was, but how could he demean her by thinking she had slept with his son?
Was he crazy or something?
"You are sleeping with her aren't you?" Mr Hwang asked again while eyeing Tom suspiciously.
He thought that would probably be the reason why Tom was defending her and didn't want her to get fired.
"You are embarrassing my employee. How can you ask this kind of question in front of her?"
When Lisa heard him, every other thought in her head paused. Slowly, she lifted her head to look at his back that was still in front of her.
"What? I am embarrassing your employee?" Mr Hwang asked in utter disbelief.
"Yes. See one problem I have with elders, you always act before you ask questions. You heard she got me injured. Shouldn't you have at least asked me why it happened that way? Isn't that the smartest thing to do?"
"HWANG THOMAS!" His father called his name angrily. But if he thought he was the only angry one, then he was mistaken because Tom began to speak in a more angry and loud tone.
"I have been doing everything you asked me to for the past week. No scandal about me, no overnight parties, no moving around with ladies. I have been quiet like you asked me to. The only little time I flopped was when I overreacted and grabbed her hand and she flipped me over her shoulders then warned me not to touch her again. Isn't this the type of bodyguard you should like? The one who doesn't like me and doesn't even want me to touch her? But how could you come into my house and hit her in front of me? Over the years, haven't you learned the dangers of hitting women!?"
"HWANG THOMAS!"
"CHAIRMAN HWANG!"
Lisa, who had been quiet, continued to look at Tom's back with mixed emotion. She could guess what he was talking about. This was more than just about her right now. He was probably talking about his birth mother.
She suddenly felt a sharp sting in the left side of her chest and wondered what was wrong with her.
Was she...pitying him right now?