Chapter Five

"Thank you for understanding. I'll make sure to give you a call once I have confirmation for your appointment. Have a nice day," I ended another call. Right after my lunch break, I immediately sorted out all the voicemails left on my laptop.

As for the matter of Minju, I advised her to call someone from the lower floors to pick up their documents. Of course, she didn't want to and complained that she had a lot of work to do. So, I called in for her and thankfully, someone from each floor responded.

To be completely honest, Minju wasn't fully occupied with her work. Most of the time, she would gossip with her friends. And even though I looked at them and waited for them to return to work, they would ignore me and acted as if they had nothing better to do than gossip.

Moments later, Mr. Kim arrived and everybody immediately went on their best behavior. I watched him enter and as he approached me, he wasn't amused.

I quickly stood and bowed, "Mr. Kim."

"Miss Ryuk," he started with a stern voice as he reached me. "I heard from a couple of staff members that they saw you running all around the company. What were you doing, away from your desk this morning? It's the busiest time of the day," he continued.

I froze. I stole glances from the whole floor and they were all laughing at me, especially Minju. As for Soyoung, I could tell that she was holding back her tongue. And I prayed that she wouldn't say anything because I didn't want to cause trouble for her.

Suddenly, Minju stood from her chair and said, "Oh, Mr. Kim, your new secretary is very unreliable. She's always away from her desk and she's always on her phone. I tried to stop her but she didn't listen to me." She added, "I was going to try and take over her job. But that's against our rules. She's not fit for her job."

I was about to say something when Mr. Kim turned to her and remarked, "And you're not supposed to meddle into things that aren't of your business, Miss Chun."

Minju rolled her eyes as she sat back down. She replied, "I was only trying to help. The new employee you hired isn't worthy to be a secretary."

Mr. Kim chuckled and spatted, "I wasn't asking for your help. And just because your father is a partner of this company, you'll expect special treatment. Also, before you judge someone to be unfitting for their roles, focus on your job. The lower floors are complaining about certain papers not being delivered on time."

He added, "Our boss has asked me to curate a list for those he will let go. Would you like to be the example for everybody here?"

Minju scoffed and returned to work with a scowl on her face.

"Miss Ryuk, please come with me," he turned to me before he entered the boss' office.

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

With my tablet in hand, I sat on the chair across from him. For a while, he didn't say anything. He checked and grabbed a few papers from the drawers. As well as read a few papers.

The silence between us only added to the fear and anxiety within me. With my tablet on my lap, I discreetly clutched onto it. I also controlled my breathing as it already started shaking when I was called into the office.

"You can relax now, Miss Ryuk. You did nothing wrong," Mr. Kim suddenly spoke whilst his eyes were still on a contract.

My eyes widened as I stiffened. I didn't know if I should believe him or not. For all I knew, he would be testing me and my attitude. I didn't want to be seen as a slacker just because I got this position without any sort of effort.

He looked up at me, dumbfounded. He then let out a smile and added, "Everything's okay, Miss Ryuk. You're not in any trouble. You can relax."

I looked at him for a bit more as I waited for him to say something else. Something that would contradict what he just said. But after he nudged at me, I finally let out my breath and calmed down.

He chuckled. "You didn't do anything, Miss Ryuk. So, be assured that I didn't summon you here to be scolded."

I nodded as I swallowed the lump in my throat.

He put away the contract and turned to me. He put his hands on the table and intertwined them. He then asked, "How is your first morning here, Miss Ryuk?"

I hesitated for a bit before I replied, "Everything is going smoothly, Mr. Kim. I don't find my job draining or confusing."

He nodded. "And how do you find your co-workers?" he asked another.

"Everybody has been very welcoming. And I admire everybody's work ethic. They all do their jobs so well," I replied with a firm smile.

"Has anyone treated you unkindly today?"

I stopped for a moment as I heard his next question. I held back my tongue as I shook my head. With a faint smile, I explained, "No one has treated me harshly, Mr. Kim. And I'm very thankful for that."

He stared at me for a bit before he asked, "Are you sure?"

I nodded. I didn't want to be that person in a company who was a blabbermouth. As much as I wanted to complain, I still believed that the way I helped Minju was a part of my job. Mr. Kim did say that we should help one another. And I was given the authority to help my co-workers during his absence.

He took a deep breath in as he moved away. He grabbed his tablet and said as he tapped on it, "So, does that mean that what Minju said was true? That you were busy somewhere else instead of working?"

My heart raced a little as he asked that question. I wanted to defend myself but I didn't want to cause trouble for other people. I was only a new employee here. I didn't have the right to act all holy and perfect.

"You do know that in this company, we are very lenient with our employees. But when it comes to working hours, we're very strict. And if you're found slacking off during working hours, you're immediately fired," he explained before he returned to me. He repeated, "So, is it true? Was Minju telling the truth?"

My eyes widened in horror. Should I tell and risk being bullied by my co-workers? Or should I lie and lose my job?

I was about to answer when Mr,Kim continued, "We have security cameras on this floor. So, even if you don't answer me, I already know what happened." With one final tap on his tablet, he turned it around to face me.