Chapter Twenty-Six

“First thing is I already sensed that you were uncomfortable with that invitation,” he replied. He asked, “Am I correct? Or am I just assuming things? Because you froze a bit after Taeyoung blurted out that question.”
With a firm smile, I nodded.
“Because of that, I had to act quickly. I couldn’t tell you to ignore him when we were still with him. That would be rude of me to do. Second,” he continued, “Now that a client of mine and my brother have met you as my secretary, I have no doubt that they will tell the rest of the people within our circle about you. Like what my brother said, I never brought my secretaries along with me. It’s always Hyeongu who accompanies me in such meetings. For me to suddenly bring a secretary along is news for them. And it’s going to be worth their time to talk about.”
He added, “If I allowed my secretary, or even a regular employee to be that close to Taeyoung, it’s like inviting the rumors myself. As my secretary, you’re considered to be the closest to me, apart from Hyeongu. Busy-bodies within the business industry may take that simple day out in a café as a step for a merger between our two companies. And based on the conversation that I had with Taeyoung, you’re well-aware of my stance about that.”
My eyes widened as I slowly laid back onto my chair. I was overwhelmed with that information. I wasn’t aware that the business community was critical over one another.
“So, you see, Miss Ryuk, I wasn’t just protecting my name and my image. I was also protecting yours,” he continued. “Taeyoung has the reputation of being quite the ladies’ man. If you’re photographed with him – even just being seen with him – you will be labeled as one of his many women. And as my secretary, I don’t want that for you. You don’t seem to be the kind of person that loves drama and the attention of anything.”
I nodded and quickly resumed eating. I filled my mouth once again as I kept my eyes glued onto the food in front of me. I felt my cheeks as they burned slowly. Then, from my cheeks, the burning feeling reached my ears and it made everything a bit too warm.
I didn’t know how I was supposed to feel when I heard Mr. Nam’s explanation. But it was enough for me to slowly lose my composure. My mind raced as it continued to question Mr. Nam’s actions even more.
‘Why was he that concerned for me?’
‘Did he treat all of his previous secretaries the same way he does to me now?’
‘Has he treated his other employees like this as well?’
‘Or did he solely do it for me and me alone?!’
The reason why I asked Mr. Nam about that was for me to understand. But the exact opposite happened! After that, I was more confused than before! And there was no way that I would have the strength to ask him more questions. Especially the sort of questions that raced currently in my mind.
“Any other questions, Miss Ryuk?” Mr. Nam asked, which caught my attention.
I looked back at him and quickly shook my head. I gathered all my strength and replied as quickly as possible, “I have no further questions, Mr. Nam. Thank you for answering them and thank you for being a caring employer.” I could only hope that my face wasn’t a bright shade of red as I said those words.
His voice was reason enough to send shivers down my spine. But as soon as our eyes met, I had to keep myself from staring. His gaze could hold you in place without you noticing it. It dazzled like none other. Which was why I returned to my food and endured a long silence between us.
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I wiped my face clean with a napkin as we finally finished our food. The quiet stillness that joined us after my brief questionnaire tortured me. I tried to eat quicker but I couldn’t finish it fast enough. To my delight, Mr. Nam respected the silence and didn’t speak whilst he waited. If he chose to chat with me a bit more, I probably would have excused myself and went home.
“How was your meal, Miss Ryuk? Are you full?” Mr. Nam asked with a smile.
I nodded and replied, “Yes, sir. Thank you again for this treat. You really didn’t have to.”
“It was my pleasure.”
Suddenly, my phone rang loudly inside my bag. I grabbed it and sighed as I saw Mama’s caller ID. I could already tell that she wasn’t going to be in a good mood once I answered this call.
Mr. Nam stood from his chair and said, “Please, go ahead and take the call. I’ll go ahead and get us some coffee.” He grabbed our trays and went to the counter.
I returned to my phone, pressed the “Answer” button and lowered the volume. With a low voice, I spoke, “Yes, Mama?”
“Mingyu! Another overtime?! Are you trying to make me lose my job?!” Mama screamed at the top of her lungs as soon as she spoke. I moved my phone away as she continued her rant, “We agreed that you would look for a better job so you won’t have to do any more overtime at work. But why are you still doing it again?! You’re not the only one who has a job here!”
I took some time to collect my thoughts and answered as calmly as possible, “I’m on my way home, Mama. I just finished a few more paperworks for the day. But I’m on my way home.”
“Stop being a burden and get home quickly! The kids need their night routine done and your sisters are busy!” she yelled before she ended the call.
I sighed as I turned off my phone and slid it back into my bag. I remained in my seat and took some time to reflect on what I just heard.
‘Did she just call me a burden?’ I thought to myself.
After all the efforts that I did to assist her with everything, I was still called a burden? If I was a burden, then what were her two other daughters? A blessing? I already got used to the fact that she will never appreciate everything that I did to help her. But she still had the audacity to call me a burden.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. ‘You don’t know how badly I want to leave your house, Mama,’ I thought to myself. ‘The only thing that’s keeping me in your home is the children. And the promise that I made with Dad. Somehow, I just wish that you would see me as your child as well. Not just someone that live with you and helps you pay the bills.’
My inner thoughts were then interrupted when I felt someone stood beside me. I looked up and there stood Mr. Nam with two coffee cups in his hands. With a gentle smile, he offered the other to me and I accepted it. I needed the caffeine after what I heard from my mother.
“Is everything alright, Miss Ryuk?” Mr. Nam replied.
I looked back at him and nodded quickly. “I’m alright, Mr. Nam. I just need to get home as soon as possible. My mom needs me urgently,” I explained as I stood from my chair.
“Do you need help getting home?” he asked as I put my bag over my shoulder.
“No need to worry, Mr. Nam,” I said whilst I grabbed my phone. “Thanks to your given privilege of a shuttle service, I will have no qualms in getting home,” I smiled as I reopened my phone. I skimmed through my contacts and immediately pressed “Call” when I found my driver’s contact number.
The other line rang for quite some time before my driver finally picked up. “Hello, Miss Ryuk?” he answered.
In the background, metals clanged faintly and there was a lot of chatter. I said, “Are you busy at the moment, sir? I need to get home right now. It’s an emergency.”
“Um, how urgent is it, Miss Ryuk? I’m currently at a repair shop because two of my tires exploded. It may take quite some time to be fixed because they still have a lot of customers at this hour,” he replied.
I bit my tongue as my heart skipped a beat. I held my panic back and replied, “That’s okay, sir. I understand. I can just take the regular cab. Have a safe trip on your way home.”
“I’m very sorry for the inconvenience, Miss Ryuk. I’ll pick you up tomorrow as scheduled. Safe travels, too,” he said.
I ended the call right after. I slid my phone back into the bag with a deep sigh.
“You don’t seem alright, Miss Ryuk. Can you tell me what’s going on? I may be of some help,” Mr. Nam immediately called for my attention.
I turned to him and smiled firmly. “My driver is at a repair shop. I’ll need to get a cab as soon as possible. Again, thank you for the treat, Mr. Nam. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I said before I bowed briefly. But before I could completely walk away, a hand pulled me back gently.
I turned around as Mr. Nam slowly pulled me back to where I was previously. “Stop worrying,” he smiled as he pulled his phone out. He pressed a few buttons and put the phone to his ear. “Hello, Haru,” my eyes widened as I looked directly at him. “Miss Ryuk needs a ride home. Can you give her a lift?” After a few seconds, Mr. Nam nodded with a smile and said, “Splendid. We’ll meet you out front.”
“Mr. Nam, you didn’t have to,” I said as he put his phone back into his pocket.
“No buts, Miss Ryuk. Come, let’s meet Haru at the front door,” he replied as he walked ahead of me. I shuffled as I followed closely behind him.