Twenty-Three

We were on our way to the front door of Mr. Taeyoung’s office when it suddenly opened. It was Mr. Taeyoung’s secretary, along with another woman. She might be the client that Mr. Taeyoung has a meeting with.

We immediately stopped and bowed towards her. Mr. Taeyoung stepped forward and shook hands with her. “Good day to you, ma’am. I’m Nam Taeyoung,” he greeted.

“Good day to you as well, Mr. Nam. I’m known as Madam Mina of Apathi Real Estate,” the woman returned a smile.

Mr. Taeyoung stepped back and introduced Mr. Nam, “This is my brother, Nam Jinho. He’s the head of Nam Corporations.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Madam Mina,” Mr. Nam shook hands with the client.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

“And this lovely woman over here,” Mr. Taeyoung walked over to where I stood and put his hands on my shoulders, “Is Ryuk Mingyu. She’s my brother’s secretary.” We looked at each other and he gestured for me to shake hands with his client.

I nodded at him and shook hands with her for a brief moment.

Madam took a step back and was in awe as she looked at the two guys in front of her. She said, “It’s amazing to see two young billionaires together. And what’s even more amazing is that both are from the same family. I heard that your businesses are known as sister companies. It must be a delight to have each other in the same business.”

I pressed my lips firmly as I turned towards the brothers. Both chuckled shyly with what they heard.

“For the record, we called our companies sisters because we’re simply two siblings who own our separate ventures,” Mr. Taeyoung explained. “But nothing’s written in fine print yet in regards to that.”

Madam Mina’s brows furrowed. She turned to Mr. Nam and asked, “What is that?”

The two men shared glances with one another before Mr. Nam took the lead. “As his older brother, I want him to find his own footing in this industry without any connections to me,” he answered. “I want him to be able to have the bragging rights to say that he earned his own success.”

Mr. Taeyoung chuckled as he looked down to his feet.

Mr. Nam continued, “Perhaps, my method of looking out for my brother does sound a bit harsh. But we can’t deny that in the business industry, no one’s going to look after your best interest but yourself. Especially, when you’re new to the game or when you’re caught in a controversy.”

“You’re absolutely right about that, Mr. Nam,” Madam Mina replied. She continued, “When I first started my business, a lot of people doubted my ability since I never finished college. At the same time, I had no knowledge of the business world. But I ignored all those who were waiting for me to fall. And now, my business is stronger than ever.”

Mr. Nam nodded with a firm smile.

“Madam Mina, I will be with you shortly. I’m just going to see my brother off,” Mr. Taeyoung entered the conversation. “My secretary will keep you company while I’m away.”

“Please, take all the time you need,” Madam Mina replied. “I understand that because you two are working hard for your paths, you rarely see each other. I can wait. I don’t have a lot of plans today.”

“Thank you, madam,” Mr. Taeyoung bowed. He turned to us and nudged at us to follow. Mr. Nam and I bowed as we passed by Madam Mine and she returned the gesture.

For two brothers who didn’t reach a calm understanding a while ago, they were brilliant at catching each other’s backs in front of other people.

---*---*---*---

“I’m truly thankful for the time you set aside for me, Jinho,” Mr. Taeyoung said as we stepped out of his building. “I know that you always have a lot on your plate. But thank you for coming. Even though nothing happened during our brief meeting, I still appreciate the time.”

A while ago, before we entered the elevator, Mr. Nam told me to tell Haru to wait for us at the front. And as expected, Haru was already there when we arrived.

We all stopped beside the car. Mr. Nam and I turned around towards Mr. Taeyoung. “Meeting with the family is a priority for me. Even if we don’t see eye to eye at some points, our family is important to me,” Mr. Nam replied. “And don’t see this incident as a missed opportunity. Take this as another day where I gave additional advice in regards to your growth.”

Mr. Taeyoung nodded. He then looked directly at me and smiled. He walked towards me and said, “And it was also a pleasure meeting you, Miss Ryuk.”

He reached out his hand and I gladly shook hands with him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Taeyoung,” I replied.

“If you’re not busy, maybe we can have coffee some other time. I don’t want you to take this the wrong way. But I have to say, I suddenly have a certain interest in you,” he replied. “I hope you don’t mind. And I hope I’m not coming off too strong.”

My eyes widened as I glanced over at Mr. Nam. I opened my mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by Mr. Nam.

“Miss Ryuk, would you be so kind as to get in the car?” Mr. Nam entered the conversation. “I would like to have a word with my brother.”

I bowed and rushed into the back seat. I didn’t dare to bid another goodbye to Mr. Taeyoung. Mr. Nam didn’t sound pleased in his tone.

As soon as I closed the door, the two brothers started their conversation.

Haru turned in my direction and looked out the window. With his brows furrowed, he asked, “What happened? Why is Mr. Nam still outside?”

“He said he wanted to talk to his brother alone,” I replied as I shuffled with my things. I was in a bit of a panic because so much has happened today. Mr. Nam acted strange. Mr. Taeyong asked me to go and have coffee with him. And the way Mr. Nam told me to go inside the car scared me.

Haru stared out the window for a while before he looked directly at me. He asked, “Did Mr. Taeyoung say anything to offend Mr. Nam? He doesn’t look happy at all.”

“From what I noticed, it would seem as if Mr. Nam doesn’t want to be around his brother. It’s like he’s always adamant to be in the same room as him,” I replied as I glanced out the window. I added as I returned to him, “I believe that’s just how he is with his brother.”

Haru shook his head and said, “I’ve been Mr. Nam’s driver for so long. And I’ve seen him talk with his brother multiple times. And he’s never been that stiff.”

I turned around and watched as Mr. Nam talked with Mr. Taeyoung. And after a while, Mr. Taeyoung caught me as I watched. He smiled and gave me a slight salute, which made Mr. Nam turn around. And he was far from amused.

I held my breath as I looked back to my things. I moved further to the other end of the back seat in an attempt to hide from Mr. Taeyoung. I fixed my things and pulled the seatbelt across me. As much as possible, I didn’t want to be near Mr. Nam. I didn’t recognize him right now. He was in a different place at the moment.

A few more minutes passed and the car door finally opened. Mr. Nam entered and almost slammed the door shut. He pulled his seatbelt across him and let out a deep sigh. “Back to the company, Haru,” he instructed firmly.

Haru didn’t say a word. He put his own seatbelt on and immediately drove away from Mr. Taeyoung’s building. From the corner of my eye, I saw that Mr. Nam looked out the window as we made our way back to the company. His face settled on his hand as he rested his arm by the window.

By the looks of this, it was going to be a long way back to the office.