Chapter Seventeen

After the door closed behind me, Minju started, "Mr. Nam, your secretary is worthless. Just worthless! She cost me a whole day's work when I specifically asked her to finish it yesterday!"

I groaned silently as I slowly pushed myself back up. I turned to look at Minju and watched as she continued her rant.

She walked closer to Mr. Nam's table. "This kind of work ethic isn't suitable for a respectable company such as yours. In my opinion, it's time that you remove her and find someone worthy of such a position."

My brows furrowed as I shared glances with Mr. Kim, who stood silently behind Mr. Nam. On the other hand, Mr. Nam stared at Minju without saying a word. He gave her a blank stare, which made me uncomfortable because I had no idea what Mr. Nam would say.

And after such a long moment of silence, Minju said, "Well, Jinho, aren't you going to do anything?!"

Jinho? Why did that name sound so familiar?

Mr. Nam sighed as he turned to Mr. Kim. "Hyeongu, kindly help Miss Ryuk to this chair," he said as he pointed at the chair across him.

Mr. Kim rushed towards me and slowly helped me up.

Mr. Nam continued as Mr. Kim assisted me towards the chair, "First of all, you have no right to call me by my first name. Just because your father and I are good friends, that doesn't give you the pass to call me by my name. You address me Mr. Nam. Do I make myself clear?" He then looked directly at her.

Minju froze.

I slowly sat down on the chair as Mr. Nam added, "Second, you have no right to drag your co-workers into my office, especially when their position is higher than yours. Your family name has no value in my company. Everybody is treated fairly."

I glanced towards Minju and she pouted like a spoiled child that just got scolded. She rolled her eyes and turned to the window.

Mr. Nam closed his laptop. "What's your problem this time, Miss Chun?"

"Your new secretary," Minju briefly pointed at me, "Is the most useless secretary I've ever seen. I asked for her help and expected that it would make things easier for me. But what do I see?" She then pointed to the door and continued, "A whole pile and a half returned to my desk! Now, she comes late to work and expects me to just accept everything?! This can't be acceptable in your eyes, Mr. Nam."

Sluggishly, Mr. Nam turned to Mr. Kim and said, "Go to Miss Chun's desk and take a look at the said papers. Also, kindly look for Miss Ryuk's shoes over at her workstation."

My eyes widened as I looked down to my feet. I was in such a hurry to get here, I forgot to put my shoes back on when I finally got on the elevator.

"Yes, sir," Mr. Kim bowed and left the room.

Mr. Nam turned to me and to my surprise, his stern look softened. He examined my whole being before he asked, "Are you alright? You had quite the fall."

"I'm okay, Mr. Nam. My hands and knees kept my head up. But I'll be fine," I smiled as I rubbed my hands into my knees. With all honesty, my hands and knees were a bit hurt because of the impact. Even though the floor was carpeted, it was too rough. Luckily, it didn't leave a scar on my hands and knees.

Mr. Nam returned to Miss Chun and said, "You're lucky that Miss Ryuk didn't get any injuries because of your antics. If she had fallen the wrong way, she would've been sent to the hospital."

"If going to the hospital is a worry of hers, that's too easy for me," Minju bragged.

"And once she reaches the hospital, I will have to write a letter of termination for you. The reason I will specify is you caused a co-worker injuries, all because they failed to do your job," Mr. Nam continued. "Now, tell me, how will you be able to explain that to your father? Once it gets out to the press, how will you protect your family's image?"

Once again, Minju was silenced. At least, she still cared for her reputation. But she should've thought of that before she pushed me into Mr. Nam's office.

After a while, Mr. Kim arrived with a few contracts in hand, as well as my heels. He handed me my shoes first before he returned to Mr. Nam.

"Here you are, sir," Mr. Kim said as he laid down the contracts in front of him. "I checked a few of the said paperwork and I did notice that some of them were poorly handled. Some matters that were approved didn't fit the client's requests. Thankfully, the lower levels always read anything before sending it out," he explained.

As I wore my heels, I glanced back up at Minju and she wore a victorious grin. I rolled my eyed as I turned back to Mr. Nam, who was still reading the said contracts.

Silence surrounded us and it weighed heavily on me. Soyoung and I did our best to comprehend what the contracts were, who they were for, and to which floor they belonged to. The contracts that Minju dumped on my desk were out of my line of knowledge. I merely relied on what was on the system and the basics that Mr. Kim taught me. If the contracts were mishandled, I could only hope that Mr. Nam would understand that the contracts weren't in my line of work.

Finally, after a long moment of stillness, Mr. Nam turned to me and asked, "Are these the contracts the reason why you clocked out at nine last night?"

Caught red-handed, I was left with no choice but to nod.

"You see, Mr. Nam? She remained in this office until nine in the evening. But instead of finishing all the work, she did everything half-heartedly and made everything worse," Minju entered the conversation. "Every contract that enters this company is very important. If she continues to stay here, who knows what will happen in the future?"

Mr. Nam sighed and replied, "I acknowledge that some of the contracts were mishandled incorrectly. I will have a private discussion about this with Miss Ryuk in a moment."

My heart sank when I heard those words. I was only a few days in this job and I was already up for termination. How was I dealt with horrible cards so much in life?

"On the other hand, you should be ashamed of yourself, Miss Chun," Mr. Nam continued as he looked directly at Minju. "These contracts weren't in the scope of work that was designated for Miss Ryuk. So, why did you put the responsibility of that on her shoulders in the first place?"

Minju didn't speak as I kept my back turned from her.

He added, "Second, you should be thankful that even though she isn't trained to handle your obligations at work, she managed to properly finish some of them. And third, you should apologize for making her work late and thus, causing her to come to work later than expected. You should apologize for the amount of work that you gave her. And you should apologize for dragging her here to my office, pushing her to the floor and accusing her of being an unreliable employee.

"For the longest time you've been here, with the knowledge that you have, as well as privilege, a new employee has outdone you in everything that you should be doing," he continued as he raised his voice a bit. "In this matter, Miss Ryuk is wronged because of what you did to her. Which means you owe her an apology."

I turned my head and immediately Minju and I caught each other's stares. She scowled as soon as her eyes met mine.

She returned to Mr. Nam and complained, "Why should I apologize to her? I asked for her help. Therefore, she should've done everything properly."

"Again, Miss Chun, what you asked for her to do wasn't in her line of work. And must I remind you that her position is higher than yours?" Mr. Nam replied. "Your status outside my office doesn't matter the moment you enter this building. She is my secretary. Therefore, you should respect her as your superior."

With caution, I turned back to Minju. She rolled her eyes at me and barged out of the room. As expected, she would never apologize for something that she did. Even if it had offended someone, she would never admit her wrong.

Mr. Nam sighed as I looked back at him. He turned to Mr. Kim and said, "Collect all the contracts from Miss Chun's desk. Then, draft a letter of suspension for Miss Chun. And make an appointment with her father. I need to talk to him regarding this matter."

"Yes, Mr. Nam."

"Kindly, give me a moment with Miss Ryuk," he said.

Mr. Kim bowed briefly before he left the room.