Chapter 24: A kingdom that belies the internal

                                    

                                          
✨YUN✨
The doorbell rang impatiently as I groaned to get out of bed. Hobi raised his eyebrows questioningly at me.
"Are you waiting for someone, Yun?"
"No?" I answered, doubting myself for a moment, but having no time to think because whoever was at the door, decided to long-press the doorbell just to get on my nerves.
The old metal door didn't have a peephole, so I'd be able to take a look at my impatient visitor before I opened the door, so I had to ask while I put my hand over the doorknob, "Who is it?"
"Please, open up! It's me!" a shrill voice came from the other side, sounding nervous and hurried at the same time. 
I shook my head and looked over my shoulder at Hobi, who stood under the threshold to my bedroom. He seemed to recognize the voice before I did.
"Isn't that your friend?" He asked me, his voice low, even though she wouldn't be able to hear him if he was screaming at me.
I started shaking my head, then finally recognized Dalmi's voice when she said something again, her voice echoing in the corridor.
Wasn't she supposed to be working? I asked myself, turning the key and finally opening the door. 
And there she was, high cheekbones burning red and big eyes open wide. She was wearing semi-formal clothes like she usually did to go to work. Her hands held a paper cup of coffee that luckily was empty, otherwise the contents would have  spilled all over her clothes and the floor judging by the way her fingers clutched at it.
"Dalmi, what-"
She barged in, her high heels clicking against the wooden floor before she clumsily started to get rid of them by the entrance. I had never seen her so agitated before, and her ragged breathing made me hurry to close the door behind her, making sure to turn the key twice as I locked it. 
"Dalmi what is going on? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" I asked, getting a hold of her elbow as she struggled to get rid of her other high heel.
"I was! I did go there, then something happened- Yun, there's- Something happened," she shrieked as she almost slipped while stepping into the living room. 
Shooting a quick glance at my bedroom door, I saw that Hobi was already gone. By the way he looked surprised when she knocked, I don't think he would know what she was talking about.
"Unnie? Just breathe please," I said, following quickly behind her as Dalmi shifted her body weight from side to side, "What happened exactly? Are you alright? Is it something with your mom?"
She shook her head violently, tipping her head back to drink the non-existent coffee inside the cup, grunting when she realized there was nothing there anymore.
"No. Mom is fine. I just," she pressed her wrists against her eyelids and took a deep breath before continuing to speak, "I went to work, right? You know the magazine I work for is in the same building as Chosun Ilbo, right?" I hadn't even finished nodding when she continued, "So, I got there today and everything was fine, then a few hours later, the fire brigade tells us to evacuate the building because they were scared there would be a terrorist attack."
"What?!" I exclaimed watching her nod her head, exhaling a puff of air. 
"And then, as we are being evacuated, I heard that someone in Chosun Ilbo received a very, very unpleasant 'mail'," she made a quote sign with her fingers in the air. Well, the best she could since she was still holding the damn cup.