Chapter Thirteen

"Oh, wow, I didn't know that something still scares you," she said, sarcastically.

I sighed as I returned to my laptop. "What do you want now, Minju?"

"I'm surprised at how brave you are to even look at Mr. Nam directly. A low life like you don't even have the right to be in the same room as him," she replied.

"Minju, I didn't force myself onto Mr. Nam. I didn't ask to be called into his office," I answered, still not bothering to look at her. I continued, "And the only reason why he talked to me is because I'm a new employee. Most managers and bosses do that to make their newbies comfortable."

"Your courage to talk back to me is getting bigger as the day passes," she chuckled. She leaned closer to me and whispered, "Perhaps, you have forgotten your place here. Don't forget that your background is the most disgusting one that's ever arrived in this building."

I turned to her and glared as our faces were only centimeters apart. Minju's eyes widened but she didn't step back. It was silent all around us. But I could feel every set of eyes that were upon us. I held my breath to hide my own fear.

I won't lie, I was shaking inside. I didn't know what to say or do next. I had never put myself in this kind of scenario before. All my life, I did my best to avoid arguments such as this. I didn't know myself well should I reach the point of anger. So, I was always afraid of what I could be capable of, should I reach that point.

However, Minju was already pushing my buttons. As much as I wanted to put her in her place as secretary, I didn't want to start an argument where Mr. Nam would have to sit us down to talk about it. Because I had the biggest hunch that Minju would never cooperate.

I gathered all the courage that I needed and replied, "In case you didn't notice, Minju, I don't care about you or who your family is. And to be frank, I don't even know who your family is in the business world. But I implore you not to push me to my limits."

I briefly looked down and saw that her hands were on a few pieces of folders. I grabbed it and quickly pulled it from under her. She stumbled back as she caught herself from slipping. Her eyes widened as she ranted, "You almost killed me!"

I fixed the folders as I ignored her. I remarked, "Calm down, it's a carpeted floor. And besides," I turned back to her, "Even if you slip, I don't think this cement floor will get through that thick head of yours."

My response made some of our officemates snicker. Mostly, the guys. I glanced over to Soyoung and she did her best to hold hers back.

Minju turned red and she returned to our co-workers furiously. "Was that funny to you?!" she screamed.

Our officemates returned to their tasks immediately. Even her friends didn't dare to look any longer.

I, on the other hand, smiled to myself as I chuckled silently.

Finally, Minju returned to me and carried a forced smile. "Is that how it is now? Well, I can do one better," she gritted before she returned to her desk.

I looked back to my laptop and focused on my piled up e-mails.

Suddenly, three tall piles of documents landed on my desk. My eyes widened as I turned to its direction.

Minju appeared from behind the piles and said, "These are all the contracts that the lower levels need to be confirmed by today. And only today. I can't do them because I have so many things to do."

"And if I don't want to do them?" I asked as I crossed my arms.

She chuckled and replied, "I'll always have my father to look up your family and make them miserable. Then, I will tell them that you humiliated me and accidentally scratched my car. You can't afford to pay me in cash. So, the alternative is to make your whole family work for mine."

My eyes widened as I froze. Mama was already working herself to death. My sisters didn't have any experience in breaking their bones. And I couldn't leave the little ones in the care of anybody else.

Minju leaned in closer and whispered, "How's that for a clapback?" She stepped back, flipped her hair and walked away.

I moved closer to the piles and I almost cried as they towered over my sitting self. The amount of the contracts in front of me would take the whole night. The worst case scenario would be that I won't be able to go home early.

Or maybe, not at all!

But the only thing that was engraved on my mind was if I didn't finish this on time, Minju could torture my family. And they didn't deserve to be embroiled in such a mess, all because Minju was a brat.

I was about to stand from my chair when I stopped halfway. I planned to put the piles on the floor to hide them from Mr. Nam. But I also remembered that they had secret security cameras everywhere. I then panicked when I remembered that Mr. Nam and Mr. Kim told me not to accept any requests from Minju. Actually, this wasn't a request. It was a frigging threat!

I turned to my laptop and when I saw that my e-mails were open, I knew I could easily send a complaint to Mr. Kim. But I decided against doing that because of what Mr. Nam previously said. He was already in a tight spot with Minju. I didn't want to add more to the pressure. And because of Minju's track record, I was certain that Mr. Kim had enough complaints about Minju.

I let out a sigh and returned to my laptop. I moved it a bit to the right, just so I could ignore the fact that there were three, huge piles of contracts on my other desk.

This day was going to be a long day. And I could only hope that I would survive it.

👔👔👔

"Ugh, finally!"

My voice echoed throughout the empty floor as I finished the very last contract. I quickly wrote down my thoughts on a notepad and stapled it onto the very first page of the whole document. I put it on the top of the third pile and laid back onto my computer chair. My head has been pulsing for three hours. So, I closed my eyes and took deep breaths.

I still couldn't believe that I finished three piles of contracts in one day. I had to eat my dinner on my desk. I also bought a few snacks and two frappuccinos in order to stay alive.

After a moment of peace and rest, I went to my laptop and dialled the number of the Mail Department. According to Soyoung, the Mail Department still worked until ten in the evening. I looked at the time. Nine-thirty in the evening. I still had time to request a quick pick-up.

I dialled in their number and waited as the line rang. It took a while before someone finally picked up and said, "Hello?"

"Good evening, sir. This is Ryuk Mingyu from the forty-ninth floor," I answered. "I understand that your department will be closed in thirty minutes. So, is it okay if I place a request now?"

"Of course, Miss Ryuk. We still accept pick-ups and delivery before we log out. What will we be picking up on the forty-ninth floor?" he replied.

"I'd like to request a quick pick-up for some… paperwork."

"How much paperwork, Miss Ryuk?"

I turned to the piles once more and hesitated to reply. I took a deep breath in and said, "About three piles of contracts."