Chapter Fifteen

Mama screamed before I could even put the speaker close to my ear. I closed my eyes as I kept my phone at a distance from my face. She continued, "Don't you know what time it is?! It's already nine-fifteen pm and you have no news on what time you're going to be home. My client is already furious that I didn't arrive on time. Do you know how much money your overtime is costing me?!"

Slowly, I put my phone onto my ear and replied, "Mama, I'm still at work. But I'm almost finished. I'm just waiting for the Mail Department to pick up all the contracts I finished today."

"Instead of waiting, why don't you just leave it there and come home already?!" she shouted again and I moved my phone away once more. "Your sisters are already gone and I'm left with the kids! And I still need to take care of other people's children. Don't you know how exhausting this is?!"

I sighed as I heard what Mama said. As per usual, my sisters weren't home and Mama was left to struggle on her own. And again, as per usual, Mama would blame me and not her other daughters.

The mothers of the grandchildren she looked after.

I still couldn't understand why she never pointed her fingers at them. They were the ones who constantly caused her trouble. They made things harder for her. They consistently gave her headaches. They never cared if Mama struggled with their children.

But instead of scolding them like she would do to me, Mama would pass all the blame onto me. And it already became too frustrating for me. It was so unfair of her to be mad at me when in reality, I was the one who helped her.

She should be mad at them, not at me.

I sighed silently as I kept myself calm. With a low and tamed voice, I replied, "I'll be home right away. The Mail Department are already on their way up. I need to see them pick up my paperwork before I leave. Also, there isn't much traffic during this time of the night so travel will be a breeze."

"It better not take until ten for you to arrive. Because I already lost a lot of money because of you," she spatted.

I rolled my eyes but still answered respectfully, "Yes, I won't take long. I promise."

Without anything more to say, the call ended.

I settled my phone back on my desk and was both relieved and exhausted with just one call. The amount of strength and patience that I exerted every time she would act that way never failed to amaze me. There were so many times where I just wanted to end conversations like that. It wasn't worth any of my time. And it wasn't worth any of my energy to even put up with that. But I only put up with it because Dad said so. And I was left with no other choice because I lived under her roof.

The only thing that I wished for in life was for her to treat us all equally. If she would scold me for no reason at all, she should do the same with my sisters, especially when they were always in the wrong.

After a bit of quietness, the glass doors opened and two men came into the room. One pushed a trolley whilst the other walked ahead of him. When they reached my table, the one in front said, "Good evening. We're from the Mail Department."

👔👔👔

With my bag on my shoulder and take-home work in hand, I locked the doors of our office. Mr. Kim gave me the extra keys to the office doors and told me to lock it on my way home. After I made sure that everything was secured, I went ahead onto the elevators.

Finally, I could go home. But then, I was still at risk from my mother's wrath. 'Well, it's better to receive her wrath than Minju's nonsense,' I thought to myself.

As I walked down the elevator hall, I reached into my bag in search of my phone and wallet. But panic immediately arose when I couldn't find it through mere touch. I fully opened my bag and rummaged through it as I walked further into the hall. When I was near the elevator, I reached out to press the "Down" button when my hand bumped into another. I looked up from my bag and was surprised to see Mr. Nam, on his own.

"Mr. Nam," I bowed quickly.

"Miss Ryuk, I'm surprised that you're still here," he remarked.

"I just finished today's work, Mr. Nam," I replied whilst I stayed in my position.

"There's no need for formalities. The work day has already ended. You don't have to bow that much when you see me after work," he said.

I stood still for a bit as I contemplated what he said. I didn't know if he truly meant that or he only said that to test me and my manners.

"Miss Ryuk?"

"Yes, Mr. Nam?"

"You may stand up properly. You don't need to be so formal with me when the work day is over," he repeated.

"Yes, Mr. Nam," I stuttered as I slowly stood back up.

He turned to the elevator and immediately pressed the "Down" button. In just a second, the elevator dinged and its doors slowly slid open. Mr. Nam stepped aside and gestured for me to enter first.

I bowed slightly towards him and meekly entered the elevator. I clutched onto my bag harder as soon as he stepped in. As the doors closed, Mr. Nam asked whilst he looked at the buttons for designated floors, "Which floor are you headed to?"

"Uh, ground floor, please, Mr. Nam," I said with a little bit of a shaky voice.

He nodded as he pressed both the ground floor and basement floor buttons. Perhaps, that was where his car was parked. The elevator started to venture down the tall building right away.

I had never been so uncomfortable in my entire life. But it wasn't the bad kind.

It just wasn't something I was used to. To be with the head of the company in an elevator. To be told not to treat him too formally when we were not at work. Everything about him and his company was truly a shock to me. I was, in no way, prepared for this sort of experience.

As the elevator took its time down the building, Mr. Nam decided to break the silence. "How was your day today, Miss Ryuk? Were you swamped with calls?" he asked.

"Oh, um, yes, Mr. Nam," I stuttered as I nodded briefly.

"Even in the late afternoon and early evening?"

"Not so much in the afternoon and none at all in the evening." I decided to keep my answers short and brief. I didn't want to prolong this conversation about work. Because I didn't know how to respond if he asked about why I was still at the office around nine at night.

"Then, how come you left late?"