~ Thirty-Three ~

The elevator door finally opened and I stepped out without a fuss. I greeted the receptionist and she replied, "Good luck for today."

I stopped before the glass door and turned to her. "What do you mean?" I asked.

She gestured for me to come closer so I walked back to her. As soon as I reached her, she said, "Someone from the lower department just left and said that the office was in a bit of a chaos."

"Really? Why? What happened?" I asked.

"He didn't say. But he just said that something went down inside," she replied.

I nodded and answered, "Thank you for the early morning. At least, I'll know how to react and avoid further trouble."

"No worries," she giggled.

I headed to the glass door again. I grabbed onto the door handle, took in a deep breath and entered the room with caution.

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

I walked into the office and as expected, everybody was on their best behavior because Mr. Nam was in. All eyes were on me as I walked over towards my desk. Soyoung and I smiled at one another and Minju's friends glared at me as per usual.

But what was strange was that Minju wasn't at her desk. And as I settled into my workplace, I overheard her faint voice from Mr. Nam's office.

"I refuse to accept my suspension!" a faint shouting of Minju came from Mr. Nam's office. "Mingyu was the one who did a bad job with the contracts and I'm the one getting all the trouble for it?! If you're going to suspend me, you better suspend her as well!" she continued.

"For the last time, Miss Chun, Miss Ryuk has no fault in this matter. You were the one who made her do something that wasn't her responsibility in the first place," Mr. Nam spoke in a firmer, a bit higher tone. He continued, "Your suspension is reasonable and nothing that you say can change my mind."

"Wait till my father hears about this," she whined.

Mr. Nam immediately replied, "He already knows, Miss Chun. I spoke to him about this matter and he wasn't pleased with your performance as well. Before you threaten me with your family name and connections, always remember that in everything that you're involved in, I consult your father directly."

"This is unfair!" she screamed.

"Scream one more time in my office and I won't hesitate to add seven more days to your suspension, Miss Chun," Mr. Nam raised his voice, accompanied by a loud thud of a table. "Mind your actions and your attitude in my building. You are suspended for seven days. After your suspension, I expect a complete turn-around from you. Both from your daily outputs and your own self. Pack your things for the day and go home. You may leave."

I quickly plugged in all of my setup and prepared to press "Active" for my work.

Mr. Nam's office door opened and Minju appeared with Mr. Kim right behind her. She turned to my direction and scowled, "Are you happy now?!" she snapped. My brows furrowed as she continued, "Thanks to your stupidity, I'm being punished for something that's entirely your fault!"

"Miss Chun," Mr. Kim immediately cut her off. "Mr. Nam expects you to leave at this moment. It's also best that you don't start any trouble today. You don't want a longer suspension period."

She scoffed and rolled her eyes before she went straight to her desk.

Mr. Kim turned to me and said, "Mr. Nam would like to speak with you."

I nodded and grabbed my tablet. I removed my earphones and headed to Mr. Nam's office immediately.

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

As I entered, Mr. Kim closed the door behind me. "Good morning, Mr. Nam," I greeted as I remained standing by the door.

Mr. Nam looked away from his laptop and smiled gently as he saw me. "Good morning, Miss Ryuk. Please, have a seat," he pointed at the chair across him as he returned to his laptop.

I went ahead and sat down across from him. Patiently, I waited as he finished whatever it was that he was doing on his laptop. Whilst I waited, I mentally and emotionally prepared myself for what was about to happen. Because he dealt with Minju's suspension, there was no doubt in my mind that he would discuss something that would be similar with Minju.

After a while, he pressed "Enter" on his keyboard and moved it to the side. He looked directly at me and asked, "How are you this morning?"

"I'm all good, Mr. Nam. Thank you for asking," I smiled.

"Are you still troubled by what happened last night? If you are, I can call for somebody who can help ease the scarred terror from last night," he replied.

"No, no need for that, Mr. Nam," I replied instantly as I shook my head and hands. I continued, "Thankfully, I wasn't deeply traumatized because of what happened. With the incident last night, I believe the children were the most affected. If you will call for someone, I'd prefer that the children receive constant counseling for what happened."

He nodded with a smile. "Very well," he replied as he grabbed a sticky note. "I'll make sure to give my friend over at the association a call," he continued as he wrote a reminder on the note. As he finished, he then asked, "Is there anything else that I can do for you?"

I shook my head again.

"Are you really sure? Because last night isn't something that should be taken lightly," Mr. Nam said. "Even though nothing happened to you, it should still serve as a precautionary tale. I don't want you to be working with something that's bothering your mind," he continued.

"Be assured, Mr. Nam, that I'm alright. Thanks to you, the children and I are saved from any possible disaster. You've done so much for me. Please believe that I'm okay," I smiled.

Guaranteed, what happened last night was still fresh in my mind. Anyone who would experience something like that - or just even close to that - was bound to have a clear memory of it.

For myself, it was something that I could get through. Something that I could slowly erase from my mind. The only thing I would indeed worry about is if the children would be traumatized completely because of it. And if Mr. Nam was truly eager to help, I would put the well-being of the kids first. They would need all the help that they could get.

"Well, if you don't want any professional help, then I have something to offer you," he replied.

I sat properly as I looked directly at this.

He proceeded, "On Friday, I have a business trip to Jeju Island. A new owner of an inn wanted to have a partnership with me. I will be inspecting the facilities, the current employee and talk with the owner as well."

I immediately opened my tablet and typed the information down on my Reminders app. Inside, I was very excited to hear of this trip. It was another way for me to train myself even more with my position.

"Most of the important business will happen during the mornings. After that, the rest of the day is free," he continued.

"Understood, sir," I replied. I looked back to him and asked, "Shall I contact a hotel of your preference for reservations?"

"Hyeongu already did that. We are set to leave by early Friday morning. The trip will last until Sunday morning so by Sunday evening, we'll be heading back," he smiled. I froze as he continued, "To make the travel faster and quicker, I also arranged for you a night over at Nekobe Hotel. Haru and I will pick you up since he will be heading to me first."

He then reached for his wallet and grabbed a card. He handed it over to me and I received it hesitantly. The card was pure white with the blue Nekobe Hotel logo in the middle. At the back, a barcode was imprinted.

"You don't have to go to the hotel tonight. You can just head there after work on Thursday. And you don't have to worry about your dinner and breakfast. Our client insisted that you pay nothing for your stay," he added.

I was still in shock as I slowly lowered my hands. I tried to wrap my head around all the information that was given to me.

'My first business trip? And it's on Jeju Island?'

'A three-day trip to Jeju?'

'An all-expenses paid stay over at the Nekobe Hotel?'

'But what about the kids? Who will look after them this weekend?'

'Mama has a part-time job on weekends. My sisters are always out by Friday evening and they come home on Sundays. Who will watch over the kids?'

My mind raced with more questions in regards to the children's safety. So much so that Mr. Nam asked, "Miss Ryuk, is everything alright?"