Until Then...

Chapter -55

"...buzz...buzzzzzz..." the sound of phone vibrating broke the peace and quiet of the night. With each second, the sound grew louder and louder making burying head under a pillow a useless act.

Secretary Li who had tucked himself comfortably under the fluffy futon and drifting away in the dreamland, threw his pillow to the floor and deliriously slapped his hand on top of the infernal phone. "...Hello. This is Li." He wasn't pleased to have his sleep ruined but being a secretary for his whole life, he wasn't wired to be vulgar. It could very well be his boss and imagine him swearing directly to the boss's face. He nursed the thought a few more seconds before returning his attention to the voice on the other side of the line.

Luckily it wasn't his boss but a guy from some kind of bar...mumbling incoherently. He grabbed his glasses off the nightstand and checked the caller before questioned him further. "...You mean two guys, one black haired and one blonde drunk themselves to dead and crashed in your bar. And one of the guys told you to call me?" He rubbed the sleep off his eyes and shuffled his way out of the room. It was nearly 5 30 in the morning.

"...Oh, I see. They were trying to call this number and couldn't do it till the end. I see...Haa..." He watched the second hand of the clock moving slowly on the wall with lifeless eyes and sighed deep, so deep he felt his diaphragm sank to abdomen. Why him...why. He knew the answer to that question all too well, but he still wanted to ask. Unwillingly, he pursed his lips before replying to the caller on the other end who also sounded very much annoyed and devastated. "I am on my way to come and get them. Please look over them in the meantime...Yes, please text the address. I will see you soon."

He ended the call and shuffled toward the kitchen in his fuzzy bear slippers, his robe dusting the floor behind him. He pulled the curtains open before headed to the coffee maker and pressed the buttons. Outside, the sun had yet to come out, so everything was as if it was still nighttime. He sat at the kitchen counter and looked out the dark, wondering what he wouldn't give to go back to sleep.

Oh, sleep. How nice would it be if he could just take off his slippers, quietly return to his thick blankets and wiggled inside. It would feel so good, so comfortable. His head dropped from the knuckles, and he jolted back to reality where he was sitting on cold kitchen stool and listening to the coffee machine beeping.

"Fucking hell..." Secretary Li rarely cursed but as he stood up to get the coffee and sent a message to security to join him, he felt like it was justified. He could curse. Grumbling as he poured the coffee down his throat, he marched back into the room to change and readied to go get his boss from the bar where he was supposedly sleeping on the floor and creating a scene as usual. "I should resign...." He mumbled as he shoved his arms into a shirt and buttoned it up.

"...But I won't. Stupid Li. Stupid..." he shook his head in disappointment before slamming the door behind him and left the room. Three guards were already waiting for him outside his house, surprisingly not in as bad a mood as he was in. Sometimes he wondered whether they were real human or not. He nodded at their greetings and got into the car.

By the time secretary Li arrived the scene, it was already 7 am. The streets were waking up along with the rest of the city. Secretary Li entered the now deserted bar and saw the owner who looked worse than he did with racoon eyes, sunken cheeks, and shaggy beard. He got up from the chair full of energy unlike his appearance and almost jumped on Secretary Li in pure delight.

"...You must be Mr. Li. Thank you very much for coming down." Secretary Li just gave him a lifeless smile and said curtly, "Where are they?" The owner quickly gestured toward the terrace. "I tried waking them up several time. Other guests too. But they were both out of it. And they drank so much, even I got scared. And I have been drinking since I was 13." The owner said with a shake of his head.