Chapter Nineteen

Mr. Kim spoke from the outside. “I received a notification from one of our clients. It’s of high importance.”
Without another word, Mr. Nam stood and walked towards the window. He slightly opened the blinds and remained turned away from the door. “Come in, Hyeongu.”
As soon as the door opened, I removed my stare from Mr. Nam and looked down to my feet. I kept my head down as Mr. Kim entered.
“Mr. Nam,” Mr. Kim continued as he closed the door. He walked towards him and said, “Our client from Nekobe Hotel just called in. They said they wanted to discuss something important to you.”
“Did he mention what he wanted to talk about?” Mr. Nam asked. I secretly glanced over to them and Mr. Nam kept his back turned from me.
“No, he didn’t,” Mr. Kim replied. He then turned to me and his brows furrowed. He asked, “Miss Ryuk, are you alright?”
I quickly looked up to him and nodded with a firm smile.
Mr. Nam suddenly said, “For him to contact you directly means it’s really important.” He turned to Mr. Kim and continued, “Give him a call and tell him to meet me for lunch.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Also, where are the contracts that Miss Chun complained about?” Mr. Nam asked another.
Mr. Kim answered immediately, “They are still on her desk. I did review some of them and I already sorted everything out. Some can be left to the lower levels’ discretion whilst some truly need your eyes on it.”
“Bring everything here.”
“Understood, sir.”
Mr. Nam glanced over at me. For a moment, our eyes met but he immediately turned back around. “Kindly assist Miss Ryuk back to her desk. Whilst we wait for our lunch meeting, have the suspension be drafted. Did you contact Miss Chun’s father as well?”
“Yes, sir. He said he can meet you tonight.”
“Mm,” Mr. Nam nodded before he looked out the window.
When the room was dead silent, Mr. Kim walked over to me and helped me up. I still gave my farewell bow before I left the room. On the outside, I was calm and collected. But on the inside, I was shaking. I was extremely caught off-guard with Mr. Nam’s actions, as well as what he last said to me.
If I can’t protect you before, I’ll do everything to keep you safe now.
What did that even mean?
--- SCENE ---
“Stamp. Stamp. Stamp…” I whispered to myself as I carefully placed stamps of approval on the contract that I just finished reviewing. Not so many calls arrived today. So, I was able to look into the contracts that Mr. Kim gave me yesterday.
So far, it was also another peaceful and productive day for us here at the office. Everybody worked diligently and quietly, which was another delight to me. But that didn’t mean that I was saved from the killer glare that Minju gave me.
After I left Mr. Nam’s office, I wasn’t saved from her stares of doom. Immediately, as I turned around from the door, she didn’t hesitate and followed my every move with a glare. She was disappointed and frustrated because Mr. Nam took my side in the matter. But it wasn’t my intention to humiliate her in front of her boss. She did that to herself.
Right after I finished putting stamps, Mr. Nam’s office door opened. I looked up and it was Mr. Kim. He turned to me and gestured for me to come to the office.
I nodded and got on my feet right away. I entered the room and Mr. Kim remained outside.
“Hello, Miss Ryuk,” Mr. Nam greeted as he briefly looked up at me from his phone.
The door closed behind me as I greeted, “You wanted to see me, Mr. Nam?”
“Oh, yes,” he replied as I walked closer to him. “As you heard a while ago, I have a lunch meeting. Do you still remember that?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Did Mr. Kim tell you that a part of your job is to accompany me on business meetings and business trips?” he asked as he wore his coat that hung on his chair.
“Yes, he did, sir.”
“Good.” He walked around his desk and headed towards me. He stopped in front of me and said, “You will be accompanying me to two business meetings today. Let it be your training for future references.”
My heart stopped for a moment. It was an on-the-job training and I had absolutely no idea on what I was supposed to do during Mr. Nam’s meetings.
Mr. Nam must’ve sensed my worry because he added, “You don’t have to panic, Miss Ryuk. All you need to do is to write down important details during meetings. And all you need to bring will be your tablet.”
“But what about my calls for the day? Who will take care of them?” I asked.
“Hyeongu will stay behind and look after everything.”
Ah, so that was what Mr. Kim said when he explained my job description. And frankly, I would prefer to accompany Mr. Nam than to be the one to stay behind. Because Minju would only wreak havoc if I was the one who would look after the whole floor.
“Just to keep you up to speed, we have a lunch meeting with a client from Nekobe Hotel. Then, another meeting with our sister company. Hyeongu already gave the coordinates to my driver,” Mr. Nam explained with a smile. He reached into his pocket and revealed a single black earpiece. He pressed a button on its side and handed it to me. “That will help you call my drive when we need to leave,” he said as I examined the piece.
I looked up to him and asked, “And I should call for him now. Am I right, sir?”
He smiled as he chuckled. “Go ahead and give it a try. It’s already on so you’ll just need to press the middle button to call him.”
I nodded and eagerly put on the black earpiece. I pressed the middle button and the other end immediately rang.
A low male voice answered, “Hello, who is this?”
I looked at Mr. Nam nervously. And he gave me an encouraging nod. I took a deep breath and replied, “Hello, this is Miss Ryuk. I am Mr. Nam’s secretary. Mr. Nam has a lunch meeting right now. Are we ready to go?”
“Yes, ma’am. Would you like for me to drive to the front or will you meet me here in the basement?”
I asked Mr. Nam, “Shall we meet him up front, Mr. Nam?”
“We can just head down to the basement. I want you to formally introduce yourself to my driver,” Mr. Nam smiled.
I nodded and pressed the middle button before I said, “We’ll meet you in the basement. Kindly have the car ready.”
“Understood, ma’am.” The call ended.
“Let’s go, Mr. Nam,” I said as I gestured towards the door. I walked ahead and opened the door for him. Mr. Nam stepped out before I did.
As I closed the door, he stopped and called the attention of everybody in the room. All of them looked at him. However, when Minju saw me behind Mr. Nam, she was about to frown. She only held it in because Mr. Nam was looking at everybody.
Mr. Kim, on the other hand, stood beside another officemate of mine. He seemed to be helping her out before he looked directly at us.
When all eyes were finally on us, Mr. Nam said, “I have two meetings outside. Mr. Kin will be the one to look after you all. Again, I expect everyone’s output today. And do them by yourselves. If I hear one incident of someone passing their work to another co-worker, a suspension is on the horizon. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Mr. Nam,” everybody replied.
All except Minju.
When she heard what Mr. Nam said, she stared at me, horrified. I immediately turned to my desk and grabbed my tablet. Because I knew what would come after a terrified expression. And it would be a death glare.
Mr. Nam turned to me and said, “Let’s go, Miss Ryuk.”
“Yes, Mr. Nam,” I bowed as I let him walk ahead of me. I glanced back at Soyoung and she smiled at me. I turned to Mr. Kim and he nodded at me as he smiled as well. I took a deep breath in as I followed Mr. Nam to the elevator.
I could only hope that I would do everything right during this training.