Twenty-Five

“It’s the end of the day and I usually come here to get away from work. You should do the same, Miss Ryuk. Remember, don’t bring your work everywhere that you go. Or it will consume your everyday life. Is that clear?”
I nodded. The way Mr. Nam said that, he wasn’t angry and it wasn’t said sarcastically. He was kind and soft when he asked me to stop thinking about work. The manner of how concerned he was with my well-being was truly amazing.
We returned to our food and allowed for silence to overcome the room. The sound of pans clanging and plates being moved were very faint. Distant murmurings from the staff can also be heard. And even though I was sharing a meal with our employer, I didn’t have the feeling as if I was being watched. Which was a comforting feeling to have.
Discreetly, I would look to Mr. Nam from time to time as I battled with my thoughts. I wanted to ask him why he treated me differently today. Especially when we were at Mr. Taeyoung’s company.
Suddenly, Mr. Nam looked up from his food and caught me staring.
For a second, I froze and quickly looked down to my food. I stuffed my mouth with some chicken as I heard a light chuckle from Mr. Nam.
“You were staring again, weren’t you, Miss Ryuk?” Mr. Nam remarked. “You find me familiar again?”
I returned to him and shook my head. I swallowed the chicken and replied, “I was going to ask you some questions, Mr. Nam. But I figured that maybe now is not the time to ask them.”
“You can ask your questions if you want,” he smiled. “As long as it’s not work-related, then you can ask away.”
‘This is it, Mingyu. You can finally ask your questions,’ I thought to myself. However, a bigger part of me still didn’t know how to ask it. I tried to think of a different way to approach it. With caution, I said, “It was a good thing that your brother already has a new partner today. And we’re lucky enough to see it. You must be very proud and happy for Mr. Taeyoung.
Mr. Nam took a few seconds before he smiled firmly. He shook his head and continued eating.
Oh no, I might have offended Mr. Nam. Quickly, I added, “I’m sorry if I offended you with that remark, Mr. Nam.”
“No, no, you didn’t,” he replied instantly as he returned to me. “It’s just that... what you said couldn’t be farther from the truth.”
My brows furrowed.
He continued, “Don’t get me wrong, Miss Ryuk. It’s always a delight to me whenever I see that my brother would close deals for himself. However, it’s like he never learns his lesson. And today was a perfect example of that.”
“What do you mean, sir?” I asked.
Mr. Nam drank a bit of juice and sighed after. “Madam Mina once offered a partnership with me when she was two years into this industry. Naturally, I was filled with excitement as I always am with new partners. But upon checking the history of her business, as well as having private talks with her employees, I rejected her offer,” he explained.
“Madam Mina came from a poor family. Which meant that it would take a miracle to get your hands on a huge amount of money to start a business. And though her family history was unfortunate, my initial thought was that she worked hard for the capital that she needed to get to where she is today,” he continued. “However, upon further investigation, Hyeongu discovered that she was involved in numerous scamming scandals. Specifically, collecting money from people who wanted to invest in insurance.”
My eyes widened. That was one of the shadiest business practices that anyone could do! To cheat someone of their money was horrendous enough. To do it a lot of times and to loads of citizens under the name of insurance was even more terrible.
Mr. Nam added, “I don’t know how she managed to recover from those scandals. Even though she used different names for those, it was technically impossible for her to escape the penalty of prison because of what she did. And when I asked her employees about how she managed her business, a majority of them said that they were usually underpaid.”
“Why didn’t you tell Mr. Taeyoung about Madam Mina’s history, sir? What if Mr. Taeyoung gets scammed? Or worse, what if he gets involved in another scandal?” I asked.
“Because I know all too well that Taeyoung won’t listen to whatever I say. He will see it as me, being jealous of the fact that he was going to close a deal with her. He will think that I don’t want him to succeed. Which will be a damaging accusation against me,” he explained. “Another reason is that it will damage Madam Mina’s reputation. It will affect mine as well because I don’t have concrete evidence. And her employees won’t stand against her even if she treats them poorly. I also don’t want innocent people to lose their jobs because of accusations against their boss.”
He continued, “I want my brother to succeed. Anyone who wants to try their luck in the business industry, I always wish for their success. However, this is one of those situations that I want Taeyoung to learn. If everything works out well for them – and I hope it does – then I will be the first one to publicly congratulate my brother. If it stirs to the bad side of things, I already gave him enough advice in these sorts of things.”
Although his words and his delivery of his thoughts seemed distant, I sensed his sincerity towards his brother. Even if they didn’t agree on other things, I could tell that Mr. Nam would always have a soft spot for Mr. Taeyoung. I supposed that Mr. Nam already gave his brother the lighter side of his affections. Which was probably why he resorted to a tougher kind of love for his younger brother.
And I understood him from that perspective. I was always on the other side of the coin when it came to my sisters. However, I still hoped that one day, everything would turn around for them, that days would be brighter for them. That they would be successful in life.
Sure, I was never sweet or loving towards them. Even as a child, I would always be distant with them. But that didn’t mean that I wished harm on them. Granted, they have given nothing but trouble to the family. But I still wished that one day, everything would change for them.
“Is that all that you needed to ask me, Miss Ryuk?” Mr. Nam asked after he took another bite of his food.
His sudden question brought me back to life. But at the same time, the nervousness that I felt a while ago returned.
He continued, “Your face says everything, Miss Ryuk. If you have anything else to ask, you may do so.”
I stared at him directly and he did the same. I sucked in a deep breath and proceeded to ask the very question that I contemplated on asking. With caution, I said, “Back at Mr. Taeyoung’s building, he asked me if I can go and grab coffee with him some other time. After he asked that question, you didn’t seem happy about it. Then, while we were on our way to our floor, you told me to ignore that invitation. I don’t understand why you acted that way so I was wondering if you can explain everything to me, Mr. Nam?”
I wheezed right after I finished my entire speech. I literally didn’t give myself time to breathe as I asked my question. I just wanted to get it out of my system as quickly as possible.
He chuckled as he looked back down to his food. He then drank a bit of juice. “I have two reasons why I acted that way.”