HEART WHISPERS [Lisrene]

열다섯째

Not even five minutes after Siwon left, the doorbell rang. Thinking it must have been him returning because he forgot something, I opened the door without checking beforehand.

"Siwon did you forget... some-thing?"

My voice slowly faded, the last word coming out as a little more than a whisper. There, in front of me was not Siwon, but Lisa. Her posture was rigid and her expression looked dejected.

"Lisa! Why are you here?" I asked while inviting her inside.

"I had something to talk to you about." She replied quietly. Even her voice sounded rather gloomy.

"What a coincidence. I also wanted to speak to you about something."

"Is... is that so."

She gave me a faltering smile. Though she was trying hard to hide it, I could see the flicker of pain in her eyes. She somehow made me think of a wounded puppy.

"Should I get you something?" I asked, trying to put my thoughts in order before continuing.

"No, I'm good." She shook her head, then pulled out a few sheets of paper from her bag. "I read what you've sent me and it's good. The plot is evolving nicely. I only had a few remarks, you have them here." She finished, handing me the papers.

"T-thank you, Lisa." I said, taking the papers from her. "I didn't expect you to finish reading it so soon. It's only been two days since I sent you the chapters."

"I... I wanted to get it done as soon as possible."

"I see. Well, if there is nothing else, I have something to..."

"Irene-ssi, wait!" She interrupted hurriedly. "I have something else to say."

I stared at her quietly for a moment, then nodded my head slowly.

"Go on. I'm listening." I leaned back into my seat. There was no need to be impatient.

"Uhm, I wanted to tell you personally that..." She shifted uncomfortably, her eyes avoiding to look into mine. "I will talk to Joy today to replace me as your editor. Today is my last day in the company."

Her words fell like the crack of lightning and the booming of a thunder echoed inside my head. Her last day in the company? She won't be my editor anymore? What was happening?

"Lisa, what is the meaning of this?"

I could hear my voice trembling and even my hands were shaking slightly. This was just too unexpected. Out of the blue she simply decided to quit and run away? That's preposterous! As if I would allow her to do that. Before she could open her mouth and give me a reply, I continued speaking. Though my voice wasn't loud, it sounded sharp and cold like a sword's blade.

"Did you forget we are a team? How could you just decide to give up the task and run away?"

"I am not running away." She interjected, her voice sounding slightly desperate.

"Then what are you doing? Preparing to go on a soul-searching journey or something?"

"I... I'm leaving this task for someone better than me. Because I..."

"Who are you to decide who is better than you at this job?" I snapped, raising my voice a little. " Joy chose you for this and named you as my editor. That means there is no one else in the company better at it than you. So why would you say that?!"

"Because I'm useless." She looked away from me, her voice losing its intensity bit by bit. "Because I don't want to drag you down. You're better off with someone else by your side. Someone like... Director Choi."

So first it was simpleminded stupidity talking, now it's blind jealousy.

Just like peeling off an onion's layers, one by one, I uncovered Lisa's deepest, darkest emotion. She looked disconcerted, a gloomy vibe swirling around her person, with her eyes lowered and her expression hidden, it was impossible to decipher what she was truly thinking. Therefore, I decide to take a gamble on that ridiculous ability of mine.

Without giving her a chance to react, I jumped from my seat and tugged at her arm sharply. Clasping both palms over her face, I brought her closer until we were on eye level.

"You! Say that again!" I demanded.

Her eyes widened in astonishment and with a loud gulp I heard her swallowing her cry of surprise.

"Irene-ssi, I... I... I am..."

In the end, I couldn't hear what exactly she was, because the next moment that annoying sound broke out again. This time it was even louder, followed by more pronounced whispers. The noise grew gradually, until it finally culminated in a booming voice.

I am worried! I am worried you'll hate me, that you will never want to see me again if I tell you the truth! You'll grow to despise me if you know just how much you mean to me. I just want to have you for myself, to be the only one who knows everything about you. I wasn't supposed to, but somehow my eyes ended up following you continuously. I thought I could be happy with just that, but soon it wasn't enough just to look at you. I wanted to touch you, hold you, kiss you and make you one with me. That's why it's no good. That's why I'm leaving. I ... I ...

Lisa's inner voice was yelling loudly in my head, her thoughts pouring one after another.

🐣

[What chapter it is? I should end it soon before y'all getting bored 😳]

"Writer, you won't let me talk?"

"No, Leo. No."

😕