Click. Click. Click.

The sound of fingers dancing across a keyboard echoed through the open office.

"Anne."

Click. Click. Click.

"Anne..."

The sound continued.

Lana sighed, pushing herself away from her desk.

"Anne Laurent."

Anne's fingers never stopped moving.

Lana sighed again.

"For heaven's sake..." she muttered before raising her voice just enough. "Anne!"

Anne finally looked up, blinking as though she'd only just remembered she wasn't alone.

"Hm?"

"You've been typing continuously for the past three hours."

Anne glanced at the clock in the corner of her monitor. She tilted her head. Her common habit.

"I gotta finish this today."

"You've been saying that since this afternoon," Lana said. "The reports aren't going anywhere."

"The deadline too isn’t."

"You know what else isn't going anywhere?"

Anne looked up.

"You. At this rate, you're going to sleep in this office."

A small smile tugged at Anne's lips before disappearing almost immediately.

"It’s nothing."

"You make it seem like I'm jobless..." Lana rolled her eyes as she replied. She continued, "Did you even have lunch?"

Anne looked down and said nothing. She frowned, hesitant to speak.

"Hm... coffee counts... right?"

Lana stared at her.

"...Girl."

"What?"

"Coffee is not lunch."

"Well, there was milk."

Lana let out an exasperated laugh.

"You're impossible. Geez... It's literally 8 pm. Girl, health matters, you know.."

"Yeah, I know..." Anne rubbed the back of her neck. "I'll soon finish this up. I'm serious. I'll be done real soon."

Lana sighed. She wheeled her chair towards her. "What are you thinking about?" She touched Anne's wrist. "Hm? Talk to me."

Anne sighed, removing her glasses and pinching the bridge of her nose. "It's nothing, Lana... I just want to get this done. I'm tired."

Lana looked at the time on her laptop. 7:48 pm. Then she looked at the date. Ah. 24th April.

"You're still working late... even today."

"It’s just another day." Anne answered like she was waiting for Lana to say that. She returned back to her computer screen and began typing again.

Click. Click. Click.

Lana could see she was lying, and she knew better.

For the past two years, Anne had buried herself in work every twenty-fourth of April.

She never took a day off.

She never smiled.

And she always went home alone.

Lana wanted to say something but stopped, then simply squeezed Anne's shoulder.

"Take care of yourself, okay?"

Anne gave a faint nod without looking away from her screen.

Lana sighed again. Her phone flashed. "Hey Anne... i gotta go. See you later." She said as she stood up to wear her coat.

"Oh yeah, there's a company dinner tomorrow. I'm expecting you!"

"Mhm."

Anne kept clicking at the screen.

9:24 p.m.

Anne slipped off her glasses and rubbed her tired eyes. The office had long emptied, leaving only the faint hum of the air conditioner.

She packed her bag and headed home.

The silence followed her all the way to her apartment.

She heated a bowl of instant noodles, but after taking one look at it, her appetite disappeared.

Her fork slipped from her fingers.

She lowered her head onto the table.

The first tear fell.

Then another.

Slowly, quiet sobs filled the empty apartment.

By the time she cried herself to exhaustion, she couldn't remember how she'd made it to bed.

She woke up the next day, hugging her pillow.

Sunlight streamed through the gap in the curtains.

Anne blinked at the ceiling before turning toward the bedside clock.

7:12 a.m.

It was another day with the same old routine.

She reached for her phone.

Three missed calls and five messages.

Every single one was from Lana.

LANA: Don't be late today.

LANA: And don't you dare skip breakfast.

Anne couldn't help smiling.

A tiny smile that was barely there.

But it was the first genuine smile she'd managed in days.

She prepared herself quickly, with much enthusiasm than before. She made a peanut butter sandwich and ate as she drove.

She even hummed to her favourite radio station sing along music.

Anne said hi to everyone she saw with a smile. And she settled on her desk happily.

Lana watched from her desk and smiled.

Maybe today would be different.

Anne was settling her files and documents when Jane, the secretary, came up to her.

"Miss Laurent?"

Anne looked up.

Jane smiled politely.

"The Regional Director would like to see you."

A confused look appeared on Anne's face.

"...Me?"