Password

If someone asked me to pick between working from home or from the office, I would choose to work from home all day. There wasn't any pressure to dress appropriately. I didn't have to brave the long commute times, and I didn't have to cram together with my co-workers in the claustrophobic office.

There were plenty of reasons to love working from home. However, there was one aspect that I loathed.

"The code doesn't work? What do you mean the code doesn't work? Didn't I debug it for you yesterday?"

I frowned angrily at my monitor screen that showed a video conferencing app. There were multiple people in the call, and most of them were muted with their screens blackened. Honestly, I didn't really blame them.

No one really liked prolonged meetings, especially when they were home with their families.

Still, you guys are getting paid, right? Shouldn't you help me deal with this moron on the call?

"Nothing went wrong with the debugging, Carl. I tested it three times! You saw me test it on my computer yesterday! So, if it doesn't work, it's probably not my code."

The colleague I was talking to retorted once more, basically talking about his issues in an almost infinite loop. Hearing his words for the thousandth time, I couldn't help but sigh. God… They don't pay me enough to deal with these morons.

"Why don't you try updating all of your drivers and rebooting your system? Ah, that didn't work? Wait… what did you say? You used the code from that company folder? Didn't I say that I would share it via email?"

Hah… I may love working from home, but I certainly don't love this aspect of it. If I were in the office, I could have directly installed the program into this fool's computer, and we wouldn't have to waste so much time during this crucial meeting.

Eventually, after one gruelling hour, my manager was finally willing to conclude the meeting. Turning off the conferencing app, I hurriedly locked my computer before reclining back on my chair.

Urgh… I need a break… A long one at that…

It's only ten o'clock, and I already want this day to be over. This is what working from home can do to you. I reached for my phone to check if I missed any notifications, and to my utter surprise…

I saw fifteen unread messages and three missed calls, all from the same person as well. Thinking that it was another emergency, I hurried dialled back the number and fortunately, it connected after two rings.

"Althea? What happened?!"

"T-That was what I wanted to ask you!"

"Huh?"

"I knocked on your door, and you didn't answer!"

"Oh, you did?"

Since I was in the middle of a meeting, both my ears were plugged in. It wasn't strange for me to miss my doorbell or a few knocks on the door.

"A-Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was in a meeting, so I wasn't able to hear you."

"Ah… So you were in a meeting… That makes sense. I'd thought that something bad may have happened to you."

"Haha, what could possibly happen?"

What a weird situation. Both of us were worried that something might have happened to the other. A few months ago, this sort of situation would have been unthinkable.

"So, what do you need?"

"Hmmm?"

"Didn't you knock on my door?"

"Ah, that..." Althea's voice turned higher as she struggled to make out the words. "I-I just wanted to study there before lunch… B-But if you're busy, I could come later..."

"Oh, if that's the case, just come on over. I was about to take a break anyway."

"Okay! I'll be there in a minute!"

I could hear the excitement in Althea's voice as she ended the call. Seriously, is there a need to be that happy? I made my way to my door to unlock it, and as the gate squeaked open, I saw a dazzling young girl smiling right at my face.

"Oh, you're quick..."

"Hehe, sorry to bother you."

Even though she said that Althea comfortably removed her shoes and waltz into my apartment as if it were second nature to her. She placed her laptop bag onto the living room table and went straight to the refrigerator to pour herself a drink.

Hey… Is this my house or yours?

Come to think of it… Ever since Althea confided in me three days ago, she had become increasingly comfortable in my apartment. Our agreement only stated that I would cook lunch and dinner for her, so technically, Althea only needed to come over during those times.

However, over time, Althea had gradually increased the duration of her stay. In the beginning, she would arrive in the afternoon and leave in the early evening after dinner. Then, she started arriving early to help with the ingredients for lunch.

And finally, after that night where she confided in me, Althea started staying past dinner as well. So now, we basically spent every waking hour together.

I wonder if that's common for other people who are stuck in a similar situation?

"Your meeting must have been intense."

"What's that now?"

A sonorous voice broke me from my thoughts and brought me back to reality. Looking down at the sofa, I saw Althea nestled comfortably while she hugged a couch pillow.

"I was saying… Your meeting must have been intense. Since you couldn't hear me knocking at your door. I was quite loud as well."

"Oh, you were? Sorry about that… Yeah, it was quite intense. I was lecturing an idiot."

"Carl?"

"Yeah, that moron! I don't even know how he got this job in the first place."

"Hah… what did he do this time?"

Althea sat there quietly as I vented out all of my frustrations. When there was no one to complain to, all I could do was bottle up my feelings and suck it up. However, since Althea was willing to listen to my woes, I could unload most of my rage in words.

"This is the third time he's done this! A grown man working in the IT department and he can't even listen to basic instructions! I don't even know how he graduated from university!"

"Maybe he read the wrong email?"

"Heh… Don't joke around, Althea."

"Hehe, sorry."

After drawing out a chuckle from me, Althea stuck her tongue out in jest. Hah… Venting sure felt nice. My bottled-up rage was no longer existent, and I was slowly winding down. I reached for my phone to sort my notification, and I saw something unexpected. The first message that Althea had sent me was just a few minutes after my meeting began.

So that means...

"Now that I think about it, how long did you try to reach me, Althea?"

"That… I stood there from nine? However, since you didn't answer, I went back twenty minutes later and have been trying to reach you since."

"Wait… You were trying to reach me for an hour straight?"

"... I thought that something bad may have happened to you," Althea sucked her breath in and replied softly.

"You..."

To think that I made a poor girl wait in the cold for twenty minutes. Not only that, she had been worrying about my well-being ever since.

No, I can't let this happen again.

"Althea, wait for a minute."

I raised my index finger and gestured to the girl to remain where she was. Rushing towards my printer, I got a blank sheet of paper and tore out a small strip. Pulling out my pen, I wrote down a combination of digits before handing it over to Althea.

"What's this?"

"The password to my door."

"W-What?!" Althea's gorgeous eyes bulged out as she jumped to her feet. "I-I can't accept this!"

"Why not?"

"B-Because..."

I could understand Althea's trepidation. This password could double as a key to my apartment door, which meant I was giving Althea full access to my apartment. Usually, only family members or trusted friends would get this privilege. It wasn't something that you would give a neighbour that you'd only known for a few months.

"Are you going to steal my stuff?"

"O-Of course not!"

"Then are you going to come in the middle of the night to murder me?"

"N-No..."

"So we're good!"

"B-But!"

"Hah… Althea, don't worry about it. I trust you."

"Y-you do?"

Haha, this girl really thinks too much. It was hard to imagine a world where she would harm me. Giving her the password to my apartment really wasn't much.

"Besides, it's troublesome to keep opening the door for you. You have two hands and feet; you do it yourself."

"Hehe, if that's how you feel..."

Althea hugged the white strip of paper with a shining smile as if it were the most precious diamond in the world. Her cheeks coloured pink, and her pearly white teeth were on full display.

Woah, I didn't think she would be that happy to receive the key to my apartment…

Wait, is she really planning to do something to me?

… Nah, I doubt it.