PLEASE LISTEN TO ME

CHAPTER 41

Three days had passed, and until now Eric still hadn't contacted me at all, but he was still active on all his social media. I've been trying to contact him, but he keeps not answering my calls, and he doesn't even read my messages. "Huh...asshole." I grumbled.

"Is Eric still not calling?" Eomma asked me.

I shook my head. “Well, as expected, Eric won’t call.”

Eomma sighed. “Don’t worry, just wait a few more days; maybe he needs some peace, and you shouldn't let this interfere with your focus at work. Eomma saw you not stop pouting and grumbling in front of the laptop; focus on your work, too."

I nodded. "Yes, I know Eomma; I can still be professional, even though this is working from home." I said.

Eomma poured green tea into my empty glass. "Alright, continue your work; don't think too much about it; it will cause stress."

I just nodded and continued my work for a few hours. As usual, sometimes I glanced at my cell phone and hoped he would call me, but he still didn't call me.

A few hours later, I go outside to get some fresh air and keep walking as I see a familiar place in front of me. "I didn't expect to end up here again." I go inside and sit down at the game café’s gaming chair. "Well, never mind. It doesn't matter; I've been spending time at home and working freelance. I don't want to stress about Eric; I have to entertain myself." I muttered.

"Now that I think about it, it's been a long time since I played P*bg game. Ah, I don't know why I thought about Zhou right now. How's he doing? My online gaming friend..." I tried to check his game account, which was last online one month ago, and I saw that there was a message from him sent one month ago.

[Noona, How are you? Why haven't you been online for months? I wish we could. Is it because we're both busy? [I wish we had more time to play together again.]

I've been busy with my new job and Eric's problems. Should I answer this message? I don't want us to be friends any further; I can't get carried away and expect other people's attention anymore. [I'm sorry, Zhou. In the future, I'll stop playing this game. Thanks for everything.]

"I hope he reads this and doesn't hate me in the future. But why should he be angry? I'm not important to anyone, and I'm nobody, not even Eric." I lowered my head. "Don't cry, Yujin." I closed my eyes and hoped no tears would flow down my cheeks. "Ah, never mind..." I sighed while staring at the computer in front of me and continued playing the game for two hours with mixed feelings.

I tried to calm myself while continuing to keep my mind busy by doing various activities, but I still didn't stop waiting for a call from Eric. Sometimes I had trouble sleeping because the fear of loss and uncertain answers made me feel very uneasy. This confusing cycle continued until, finally, five days had passed. Since he still hadn't contacted me, I decided to try calling him again, but he didn't pick up. I was sure he was trying to avoid me, so I had to make small talk again and act as if nothing had happened.

[Eric, honey, how are you? Are you alright? I haven't heard any news from you. I'll wait for your answer.] I used a smile emoticon. I'm sure he will at least answer my chat.

A few minutes later, my phone notification pop up. This is from Eric. [What do you want?] Eric messaged me without any emoticon on it.

[I want to know your condition; can we talk?] i answer him

[Fine.]

I immediately calling him. [Eric, how are you?] I can see his eyes are very sharp towards me.

[Not good.]. He shakes his head. [Can you see my face? I look so pale right now.] He zooms in on his phone, camera on his lips.

[why? Are you sick right now?]

[yes, I got flu a few days ago.]

[Why haven't you told me anything before? You make me worried.]

He is glaring at me. [Do I have to tell you everything? You're not my mom.] His tone sounds cold.

[But I am your girlfriend; at least I need to know your condition. Even though we are far away, at least someone knows I can still help or give advice, even a little.]

Curling his lips as he strokes his forehead [My head is spinning now. Is there anything else you want to talk about?]

Calm down, Yujin, don’t get upset. I take a deep breath [Have you eaten and taken your medicine?] I stopped talking for a few seconds. [I wonder if it's because of the flu that you haven't contacted me much?]

[Yes, I have eaten. That's right because I'm sick and I'm also busy.] He replied hesitantly as he looked away at the moment and he look at me again. [Can we talk about something else?][I'm sick; this conversation is not important.]

[Okay.] I sending him some screenshot of Ji_Park69.

[What's this? What's with the cake?] His eyes were wide open.

[I wonder why Ji_park69, who you said is the only customer, has photos and videos of your birthday cake in your room?]

He avoiding my gaze again. [Ah, it's nothing.]

[What does it mean to say nothing? Can you explain in more detail? I feel perplexed.]

[Hell man, why are you asking so many questions like an interrogator?? Why do I have to explain everything to you?] He raised his voice.

[We're dating, and you said that we're going to get married. How can you say that? Was she not in your room on your birthday?]

He was glaring at me. [No! Why are you accusing me of that?]

[Then give a simple explanation; if it's just evasive, what can I understand from it?] Don't tell me Eric will reason that he was the one who sent the photos and videos. That's what I thought.

[Actually… she g-gave me a cake, then I took the cake home and sent the photos and videos to her as a thank you.] Eric's voice bit shaky.

[Really? Why don't you just upload it to your own Inst*gram story while tagging her account without bothering to send data? Also, he was at the restaurant; you could have just thanked him directly; why did it also say My Love on the cake? She acted like your girlfriend, more than me.]

[Forget it! You shouldn't exaggerate the problem. My head is spinning. I'll hang up.]

[But...] I stopped talking for a while. [Alright, don't forget to take your medicine; then when will you call me again?]

[After I recover, I'll call you.]

[Eric remember those women probably just want your money, understand?]

Eric didn't respond to my words, and he suddenly hung up the phone.

I couldn't say anything or try to call him again because I knew he wouldn't pick up. I wanted to ask a lot of questions and reply to his words, but because I loved him so much, I was like a fool and blind to love. Why did I want his love so much like this? My mind remains restless.

"Hey, Mochi, it's already midnight; why are you the only one who hasn't slept yet?"

"meow!" Mochi jumped onto the bed and sat on my lap as I stroked her back.

"You know...Eric has made mistakes so many times that I've lost my trust and faith in him. But I still expect him to love me sincerely, be loyal to me, and not just want my body." I muttered.

"Meow!" Mochi stroked her head on my right palm.

I kept thinking that although in France the closeness between a man and a woman who are friends but can sometimes go beyond is normal, in South Korea...there are things that need to be limited. I want to tell him this again, but will he listen? He often runs away from the problem when we have arguments like this. Ah, I don't know anymore. My head hurts.

God….please help me.