When All The Lights Go Out

Chapter 3

The alarm goes off at around 10am. Emma turns it off sleepily as she slowly opens her eyes. She stays in her bed looking at the ceiling when suddenly it hits her: She has the interview today. She quickly gets up as she runs to the bathroom to get ready. After doing her daily morning routine, Emma goes to get dressed as she picks up the clothes she had chosen the day before. She ties her hair in a ponytail as she puts her shoes on and then takes her bag and goes downstairs, locking the door behind her. As she goes down to the main hall, she finds mrs Lee in her office, looking through some documents.

"Good morning mrs Lee" Emma greets her with a smile. The old lady raises her head to meet her as she smiles back at her. "Good morning Emma. Where are you going at this hour?" she aaks as she offers her some cookies. "I have the interview today. The one I told you about yesterday. I am kinda nervous, to be honest" Emma says as she takes a cookie. "I am sure everything is gonna be just fine. You are a smart girl, you got this" mrs Lee says with an encouraging smile. "Thank you mrs Lee. I need to go now, I'll see you later" Emma then waves as she quickly leaves. As she walks thtough the busy streets of Seoul, she checks the time and she panics as she realizes she only has 30 minutes before the interview. Thankfully, the place isn't too far, as she quickly finds it within 20 minutes.

As she takes a step closer she can feel her stomach twitching. Her palms starts sweating terribly and her mind goes blank. What am I gonna say? What if I am not good enough and end up jobless AND homeless? What if this is just a prank? These kind of thoughts are running through her mind and she feels like she is going to pass out. But she gathers all the courage she has, as she takes a deep breath and rings the bell. She can feel her heartbeat going faster and faster until the door opens, revealing the man behind the voice she talked to. Emma takes a few seconds as she stares into his beautiful eyes, getting lost inside them not knowing what to say or how to react.

"You must be Emma?" the man says bringing her back to reality. "Yeah, we talked on the phone yesterday, nice to meet you" Emma says as she offers her hand for him to shake. "You must be mr Lee?" she says a bit unsure, as her voice trembles. He laughs as he nods and shakes her hand. "Yes, but please call me Heeseung. Come on in" he says as he makes way for her to step inside. Emma hesitantly steps inside the house, trying to ignore the fact that her heart is about to jump out of her chest. "Come on, this way" Heeseung days as she follows him into the living room. "Please have a sit" he says as he sits on the couch and Emma sits right across him. "Are you nervous?" he asks with a genuine smile as Emma laughs akwardly. "Is it that obvious?" she asks him. "I can tell yeah. But seriously, relax. Do you want something to drink perhaps? What can I get you?" Heeseung asks in the most sweet tone Emma has ever heard from a man. "Just a glass of water, thank you" Emma says as Heeseung nods and heads to the kitchen. He returns after a few minutes, handing her the glass. "Here you go" Heeseung says with a smile as he sits down again.

"Thank you" Emma says as she drinks it in the speed of light. Heeseung chuckles as she looks at her. "So, shall we begin?" Heeseung says with a smile as she nods. "Don't worry, I am not gonna interrogate you much, I just wanna get to know you a bit more, so tell me about yourself. Have you worked as a maid before or have you done something similar in the past?" Heeseung asks as she looks at her fondly. "Well, I haven't work in someone's house before, but I've lived alone most of my life so I can handle house chores very well" Emma says as she hopes her voice stays stable the entire time. "That's good. I mean the fact that you knwo chores well, don't get me wrong. I know living alone is not fun" Heeseung replys as he tries to ease the atmosphere a bit. "No worries" Emma laughs as they continue to talk about the job. Heeseung asks her many questions, such as how good she can work under certain circumstances such as pressure and tight schedules, how she likes to work so he can make the environment ideal for her and many other things.

After a lot of discussion, the interview finally comes to an end. "So, when do you think you can start?" Heeseung says, leaving Emma speechless, since she didn't expect such a quick response. "Y-you mean" Emma says as Heeseung smiles. "Yeah, you are hired. I know it seems a bit fast, but I had other interviews before, but I always felt like something was missing. But you have the whole package, exactly what I am looking for. I believe that with you I can work without stress. So what do you say?" Heeseung says with a smile. Emma cannot believe what she is hearing as she tries to understand what just happened. "Y-yes, of course! Thank you, thank you so much" she says as she takes his hands into hers. Heeseung laughs as she shakes her hand. "So, when do you think you can start?" he asks her. "Anytime. I can start right now or tomorrow, whenever you want" Emma says with teary eyes. "How about this Saturday?" Heeseung asks. Emma nods as she remembers she has to leave the shelter anyway. "Do you need any help with bringing your stuff?" Heeseung says and Emma panics a bit not wanting him to know where she lives. "No, it's fine I can handle it don't worry. I don't have too many things to pack anyway. I appreciate it tho" she says as Heeseung nods understandingly. "Ok, I'll be waiting for you then" he says as they both stand up and shake hands. "Thank you so much. You won't regret it I promise" Emma says as Heeseung smiles. 'I am sure I won't" he says reassuringly. "Let me walk you outside" he says as they start to go to the front door.

After saying their goodbyes, Emma turns to live happily as she finally feels that luck is on her side. On the way back to the shelter, her smile never leaving her face, she wonders how this is gonna work. She is nervous of course, but she feels ready. Ready for a fresh start.