Chapter Fourteen

There was silence on the other end of the line for a bit. And I couldn't blame them for that. I mean, if I was in the Mail Department and someone asked me to pick-up three piles of paperwork, I would indeed hesitate.

I quickly added, "If it's too much, I understand. You can just pick up one pile today and get the rest tomorrow."

"No, Miss Ryuk, it's no big deal. I was just surprised at the amount of paperwork that you have," the man immediately answered. "Don't worry, Miss Ryuk, we'll be there right away."

I sighed out of relief and said, "Thank you, good sir. I'll wait for you." And with that, the line ended. I laid back onto my chair and looked out to the window. Somehow, I was relaxed as I saw the night sky. The crescent moon smiled beautifully at me as the stars twinkled.

In my mind, I prayed that Mama wouldn't be so angry that I worked late. She wasn't exactly pleased when I informed her that I would be home late. I also prayed that the little ones wouldn't be angry with me. No one wanted for this to happen. Soyouny was the most unhappy person today.

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Exactly, five o' clock. On the dot.

Everybody packed up their things and headed for the door. Whilst I remained on my desk as I finished my files for today. And I couldn't forget the fact that I still had the dreaded contracts to finish.

Thankfully, Mr. Nam and Mr. Kim hasn't returned yet. So, I had some time to skim through what I could.

As my officemates walked out one by one, I felt some kind of freedom as they all disappeared from my sight. Especially Minju and her circle. Their presence was the only thing that made my days even longer. But as long as they weren't in the same room as me, as long as I didn't see them, I felt instantly better.

I finished filling up the Excel file and immediately sent it to Mr. Kim. I then closed my tablet and turned to the piles. I grabbed one from the pile and another pair of hands grabbed another. With wide eyes, I looked up and saw that it was Soyoung.

"What are you doing?" I asked as my brows knitted together.

She grabbed a chair from a nearby cubicle and sat across me. She replied as she read the contract, "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"Soyoung, you don't have to. Minju did this to me, not you," I protested.

But she ignored me as she continued reading.

I moved closer and reached out to grab the contract from her. But she immediately moved it away from me. Her brows furrowed as she lifted the contract in the air behind her. "Excuse me? Don't you know that it's rude to disturb anyone who's reading?" she asked with a blank expression.

I sighed. "Tsk. Soyoung, you shouldn't exhaust yourself just because of what Minju put on my shoulders. You worked well today. Don't add more work on your shoulders."

"Mingyu, I told you from the beginning: I will not let you be drained by Minju's antics. As a friend, I will help you in any way that I can," she said as she looked directly at me. With a stern look on her face, she continued, "You know I don't say anything that much whenever you have aggressive banter with Minju. But that doesn't mean I don't care. If you didn't stop me on the third day, she would've continued to hear something from me."

On my third day here, Minju said words that were harsher than her previous ones with me. I only started to talk back at her during that time. So, I wasn't used to talking back. And because of that, Soyoung was the one who let out all the words. It almost led to a full-blown argument in the office. And it happened during working hours.

Thankfully, Mr. Kim arrived on time and diffused the tension. Both parties were brought into the main office and settled everything there. After that incident, I told Soyoung that should Minju persisted with her babbling antics, she should remain silent.

I didn't want to cause another trouble for Soyoung. Both were given a warning that should their confrontation reoccur, both would be removed from work. I didn't worry about Minju because she could easily let her father do the talking. What I thought about was Soyoung. Even if I pleaded with Mr. Kim or even Mr. Nam to let her stay, I wouldn't expect for them to approve of my request.

Which was why I continued to do everything to protect Soyoung. She was the only friend I had here and she always protected me from Minju. I should do the same. And would always do the same.

I sighed once again and replied, "I did that because if I allowed you to continue it, you will be removed from the company. And I don't want you to suffer a loss just because you defended me from her."

"I'm not just going to sit idly by and watch someone be looked down upon. Especially by someone as stupid and arrogant as Minju," she said as she settled back onto the desk. "She's adamant to prove that you don't belong here. When in actual reality, she's the one that has no business doing here. And I'm not going to let you get through her tantrums alone. If you're going to be an idiot and be afraid of her, then I'll be an idiot with you."

"But, Soyoung–"

"No buts. I'll help.you with the contracts. And that is non-negotiable."

I closed my eyes as I hung my head to the side. Once Soyoung has decided on something, there was no other way to stop her.

Defeated, I replied, "Okay, you can help. But only for an hour. Choose the short ones and leave the rest to me. I'm not going to let you do the heavy work even if you help. And I'm only allowing you to help because there's no other way of stopping you."

"Fair enough," she smiled triumphantly as she continued reading.

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As I glanced back onto the piles, I couldn't help but smile as I remembered how Soyoung accompanied me with some of it. I was already thankful that I had one true friend here. But I was very lucky that it was Soyoung. And even though she was the only friend that I had here, one real friend was enough for me to be able to bear Minju's wrath of terror.

In the middle of silence, my phone rang. I grabbed it and as I checked it, Mama's called ID was on the screen. I closed my eyes and sighed. I didn't want to answer her call because I already knew what was going to happen. But if I didn't answer this one, she would only call again. And she would never stop unless I picked up.

I took a deep breath in and prepared for her wrath. And surely enough, before I could even say "Hi", this was what immediately happened.

"Where are you?!"