Slip : Part 2 : The Final Friday

 LOST — Part 2

Full English Translation (Unabridged)

Friday Morning.
The last day of the week — and the last day of the month. Some people in the office worked lazily and sluggishly, while others were already making after-work plans for barbecue buffets, karaoke nights, or whatever payday activities office workers tend to enjoy.

For Sunny, though, it was a brutal morning. She had been called into her boss’s office first thing after arriving because of a serious mistake in her reports — the sales and purchase figures she submitted were completely off.

Her boss sat across the desk with a stern face, the air thick with irritation radiating from his eyes as they scanned the file in his hands. Sunny sat tensely in front of the desk, fully aware of the heavy, uncomfortable tension in the room.

“It’s the end of the month, Sunny — the last day for us to submit this department’s final numbers. But look at this! Did you even review it before turning it in?” the boss asked in a calm but cutting tone.
“Uh… I did check it, sir. Where… where did I go wrong?” Sunny stammered nervously.
“Where did you go wrong? You mean you didn’t notice that the purchasing data and the accounting data completely contradict each other?” His voice rose, his patience thinning fast. Sunny’s innocent face did nothing to save her from the scolding. She could only look down, silent and ashamed.
“Do you even realize that if your sloppy numbers got used, it could cause serious trouble for this department — maybe even get us accused of fraud? How could you be so careless?” he snapped. Sunny had no idea what to say; she just kept her eyes on the desk.
“Take this file. Review it. Fix everything. And by Monday morning, the corrected version better be on this desk. Understand? Now get to it.”

His words were sharp and final.

That meant one thing — it was Friday, and Sunny was supposed to leave for her week-long beach trip tomorrow. Which now meant she had to fix everything today. The halfhearted work she had been doing all week now had to be undone and redone — in a single day.

How was she going to pull that off?

Sunny picked up the file and trudged back to her desk, shoulders slumped. She sat down and began going through the numbers, line by line — only to realize that almost everything was wrong.

“Ugh, this is crap. What a nightmare!” she muttered, slamming the file on her desk in frustration.

Belle turned around to see Sunny pouting, her face twisted in despair.

“So? What did the boss say?” Belle asked curiously.
“What do you think? The numbers — all wrong! I have to fix them before I can go on vacation. This is such bullshit,” Sunny vented. “I’m supposed to go to the beach tomorrow. I’ve been waiting for this trip! What am I gonna do if I can’t finish today?”
“Let me see that.” Belle took the file and flipped through it, her eyes widening. “How the hell did you get all these numbers wrong? Where did you even pull this data from?”
“I must’ve looked at the wrong year… and maybe the wrong department too. So everything’s messed up,” Sunny said with her eyes closed, clearly too fed up to care.
“Then you’d better get cracking if you want to finish today,” Belle said, turning back to her own desk. “I’ve got some stuff to fix too. Gotta finish quick — I’ve got plans to chill at that little bar down the street tonight.”

But Sunny didn’t even register what Belle said.

“I’ll finish it. I have to finish it. Tomorrow I’m going to the beach. I can suffer through just one more day,” she muttered under her breath and started typing furiously.

She barely moved except for quick bathroom breaks. Even at lunchtime, she refused to join her coworkers, asking Belle to grab lunch for her instead. Her determination was fierce — she would get this done today.

Meanwhile, Belle and the rest of their friends went to a nearby restaurant as usual. The group of office girls, freshly done with lunch, chatted cheerfully about cute pet videos they had seen on social media while walking back toward the office.

“I wish my cat could talk! Look at this — this cat’s talking to its owner!” one of them said, holding out her phone to show a video.
“Come on, that has to be AI,” said Belle, chuckling.
“No, no, look — the dancing cat! See? That one’s definitely AI,” another friend said, holding up her own phone to show a different clip. Everyone burst out laughing at the funny, dancing cat on the screen.

As they chatted and climbed the stairs back to their department — suddenly—

“BEEEEEEEELL!! HELP MEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

A shrill scream echoed. The group froze instantly. The sound came from right around where they were standing — yet it seemed distant, muffled, and strange, as if it came from far away.

“Sunny?” Belle said, looking around in alarm.
“Yeah… that was Sunny’s voice! But she’s on the fifth floor, right? We’re on the third. Did she yell for help?” one of the friends asked.
“I don’t know, but something’s wrong. Come on, let’s hurry!” Belle said.

They rushed up the stairs. Once they reached their floor, everyone split off to their respective departments — except Belle, who worked in the same section as Sunny. She hurried straight to their office.

When she opened the door, she found Sunny sitting at her desk, completely absorbed in her work, focused on the computer screen as if nothing had happened.

Belle quietly placed the lunch box on Sunny’s desk.

“Here — your broccoli fried rice. You yelled for me just now. What was that about? You scared the crap out of us,” Belle said as she sat down in her chair beside her.
“Huh? Yelled? What are you talking about?” Sunny asked, eyes still fixed on her monitor.
“You just called me for help! I heard you loud and clear. I ran up the stairs to find you,” Belle said, confused and slightly unsettled.

“No, I didn’t call anyone. You heard me calling you, Belle?” Sunny asked, puzzled.
“Yeah. You yelled for help,” Belle replied. To be honest, she was starting to feel like something was definitely off.

“Pfft—hahahahaha!”

Sunny suddenly burst out laughing, stretching her arms as she spoke.

“Seriously, Belle, maybe you just imagined it. Honestly though, I do feel like screaming for help right now too. Ugh, I’m so sick of this crap. These stupid numbers — lose focus for one second and I end up putting them in the wrong row or the wrong damn table.”

“So you… really didn’t call me? My friends heard you too, you know,” Belle asked again, leaning toward Sunny with a serious tone.
“Didn’t call anyone. If I had shouted for you, my voice would’ve been loud enough to freak everyone in this room out. Wouldn’t it make more sense if I just called you instead? Maybe it was someone else’s voice… Anyway, thanks for the lunch,” Sunny said, standing up and taking her lunch bag toward the small office pantry.

Belle watched her go, confused. She was sure she had heard Sunny’s voice — and there were witnesses, too. But she kept her doubts to herself, knowing Sunny was desperate to finish her work. 

— To be continued... —

Slip #1, Slip #3,  Slip #4,  Slip #5,  Slip #6,  Slip #7, Slip #8,  Slip #9,  Slip #10