"I'll have everything prepared for your appointment with Mr. Nam. Should there be additional confirmation needed, I'll give you a call straight away," I explained to a client who was on the other end of the line.
"Thank you so much, Miss Ryuk. Thank you for taking care of my appointment," the client replied.
"No need to thank me, sir. I'm only doing my job. Have a nice day," I ended the call and typed in additional information onto my document file. It has been a week since my first day of working here. And thankfully, I was able to adjust in no time. With the help of Mr. Kim and Soyoung's informative advices, I didn't struggle that much.
I wasn't overworked as well and that was such a big blessing. Back at my previous job, I had to work extra hours. However, my additional efforts weren't properly compensated so I was always exhausted.
With my new job, I wouldn't deny that I was always swamped with calls. Especially during the first hours of the day. But it wasn't as hectic as my former jobs. So, it wasn't still too much for me to bear.
The lunch bell rang right after I pressed the "Enter" button. As soon as the bell stopped, everyone in the room stood at the same time. They grabbed their mugs and wallets and headed out of the office.
I remained in my seat as I finished other documents. Of course, the day wouldn't be complete if Minju and her friends didn't glare at me. As they passed my desk, they walked slowly. I could feel their stares on my very back. It was uncomfortable but I decided to simply ignore it whenever they did it. Because after some time, they would eventually stop.
A few seconds passed and Minju and her friends eventually left the office. Once the glass doors closed behind them, I let out a deep breath and pushed myself away from my desk. I sighed and laid back onto my chair.
The door to the boss' office clicked and I pulled myself together as it opened. Mr. Kim stepped out and was shocked when he found me at my desk. "Miss Ryuk, aren't you going to eat lunch?" he asked as he closed the door behind him.
"I will be eating my lunch, Mr. Kim. I'm only adding a few notes on my documents for today," I smiled as I looked up at him.
He nodded. "Don't overwork yourself. You have the whole day to work," he replied.
"Yes, Mr. Kim."
"Also," he lowered his voice as he leaned onto my table, "Don't tell the other employees yet. Mr. Nam will be arriving today. He may or may not have a quick talk with you. Should he call for you, don't be afraid to ask him anything."
I nodded and asked, "If you don't mind me asking, Mr. Kim, why should I keep this a secret? Shouldn't the whole floor know that the boss is back?"
"As much as I want them to know beforehand, most of your co-workers have been slacking. So, I thought it would be a nice surprise for them when the boss returns," he smirked.
"Ah, I see," I nodded.
"Well then," he said as he pushed himself up from my desk, "I'll be having my lunch. Don't stay here for too long. Have your break."
"Yes, Mr. Kim," I smiled.
He looked up and remarked, "Oh, I didn't know that Miss Ya is also here."
I turned around and was surprised that Soyoung was still working, too.
"Hello, Mr. Kim," she waved at him. She continued, "I'm waiting for Mingyu to stop working."
"Really?" Mr. Kim smiled as he looked at me for a brief moment. He returned to her and said, "Well, it's nice to see that Miss Ryuk has a friend here. I'll go ahead now. I'll see you both after lunch."
"Bye, Mr. Kim," we both replied.
I then closed my tablet and grabbed my mug and jacket.
As I stood from my chair, Soyoung arrived at my desk and said, "Mr. Kim has been very kind to you. You're very lucky that you receive his good side all the time."
My brows furrowed as I walked out of my desk. I then asked, "Isn't he kind to you? Or towards our fellow co-workers?"
She sighed as we started walking. "Yes, he is kind and understanding to everyone. But because everyone is full of air, he tends to be firmer towards us. Especially to those who act like they're the ones who run the business," she explained. "So, for him to treat you a bit differently than us, you're lucky. And to be frank, you deserve it."
"I don't aspire to be treated differently than everybody here. I want to be treated the same as everyone else," I replied as we stepped out of the main office.
"Trust me, you'd rather stick with how he treats you now."
---*---*---*---
I took a sip of water after I put my tray on the table. As usual setup, Soyoung and I sat at the corner table in the cafeteria. There were other tables but we chose to sit somewhere that was away from the other employees. And it was always a delight to eat beside the window.
The cafeteria was positioned at the twenty-fifth floor of the building. Therefore, it wasn't that frightening to look out the window whenever we had lunch.
Soyoung popped open her juice box with a straw and said, "Any meal won't be complete without juice boxes. I'll fight anyone who says otherwise."
I giggled at her remarks.
Our calm atmosphere was then interrupted when Minju and her friends arrived at our table. With their food trays in their hands, Minju started, "I'm surprised you lasted a week, Mingyu. Usually, on the third day, secretaries are crying over their workload."
"That happened because you mistreated them, Minju," Soyoung entered the conversation as she sliced through her chicken.
Minju rolled her eyes as she glanced over at Soyoung. She returned to me and continued, "So, when are you planning to resign? You do know that you don't deserve to work with us. right? We saw your resume on the system. You don't belong in this building." Minju's friends giggled as they looked down on me.
With all honesty, Minju's words stung. Even though she would talk down on me on a regular basis, it would still break my heart. However, I chose to say something back on my third day. I never had the best comebacks. But at least, I always had something to say. I just wanted her to remember that I won't always step down for her amusement.
I smiled softly and replied, "Unfortunately for you, I'm enjoying what I do. So I don't think I'll be resigning anytime soon." I added, "Also, if I didn't belong here, I wouldn't have lasted a week. Don't you think so?"
She chuckled and answered, "You're just here for the money. Don't deny it."
"Um, isn't that why we work for a living?" I raised a brow as I smirked. "Or are you here for a different reason?"
My response caused her to freeze. Soyoung snorted as I kept my gaze on Minju.
Minju pouted and stomped before she hurried away from our table. Her friends followed quickly.
I sighed as I turned back to Soyoung."That was a good one, Mingyu," Soyoung said as she composed herself. "That, she couldn't deny. She only entered this company because she's interested in our boss."She chuckled as I grabbed my utensils. I replied, "She may have stopped bothering me during working hours. But she will compensate for it during lunch." I looked directly at Soyoung and asked, "Doesn't she have any other hobbies? Other than to bother me and make me feel like I'm a worthless piece of trash?"Soyoung shrugged and said, "So far, degrading other people is the only hobby that I know she's good at." She took a bite from her chicken and added, "At least, we know she's good at something other than being an absolute pain."We shared a brief laugh together before we
Mr. Kim closed the door behind me, which caused me to hold my breath. I didn't know what I was supposed to do. So, I remained standing in the middle of the room. There was nothing to hear around us but silence.And of course, the sound of how hard my heart pounded onto my chest.I did my very best to keep myself standing up. By the manner of how hard my heart beated, it was enough to make me dizzy. And it didn't help that I returned to panic mode. Breathing became a struggle once again. I looked all over the room in an attempt to distract myself from… well, myself.Without looking, Mr. Nam finally broke the agonizing silence as he said, "Please take a seat, Miss Ryuk." He briefly gestured to the chair across him before he flipped onto the next page.I bowed briefl
My eyes widened at his sudden question. My cheeks burned once more. My ears rang as I panicked. "Oh, um, please don't mind that, Mr. Nam. That was a mistake on my end," I replied as quickly as possible."That only means you had a reason to stare. You can tell me," he insisted.I stared at him as I hoped that he would change his mind. But to my dismay, it seemed that he wasn't about to give up on this conversation.He added, "Miss Ryuk, I'm not mad if you stared at me. I just want to know the reason why. Everybody has their reasons when they do something. Even if it was as odd as staring at somebody."I stood frozen and contemplated on what to do. Should I really tell him what I was thinking when I stared at him a while ago? Wouldn't that be a weird way to start my connec
"Oh, wow, I didn't know that something still scares you," she said, sarcastically.I sighed as I returned to my laptop. "What do you want now, Minju?""I'm surprised at how brave you are to even look at Mr. Nam directly. A low life like you don't even have the right to be in the same room as him," she replied."Minju, I didn't force myself onto Mr. Nam. I didn't ask to be called into his office," I answered, still not bothering to look at her. I continued, "And the only reason why he talked to me is because I'm a new employee. Most managers and bosses do that to make their newbies comfortable.""Your courage to talk back to me is getting bigger as the day passes," she chuckled. She leaned closer to me and whispered, "Perhaps, you have forgotten your place here. Don't for
There was silence on the other end of the line for a bit. And I couldn't blame them for that. I mean, if I was in the Mail Department and someone asked me to pick-up three piles of paperwork, I would indeed hesitate.I quickly added, "If it's too much, I understand. You can just pick up one pile today and get the rest tomorrow.""No, Miss Ryuk, it's no big deal. I was just surprised at the amount of paperwork that you have," the man immediately answered. "Don't worry, Miss Ryuk, we'll be there right away."I sighed out of relief and said, "Thank you, good sir. I'll wait for you." And with that, the line ended. I laid back onto my chair and looked out to the window. Somehow, I was relaxed as I saw the night sky. The crescent moon smiled beautifully at me as the stars twinkled
Mama screamed before I could even put the speaker close to my ear. I closed my eyes as I kept my phone at a distance from my face. She continued, "Don't you know what time it is?! It's already nine-fifteen pm and you have no news on what time you're going to be home. My client is already furious that I didn't arrive on time. Do you know how much money your overtime is costing me?!"Slowly, I put my phone onto my ear and replied, "Mama, I'm still at work. But I'm almost finished. I'm just waiting for the Mail Department to pick up all the contracts I finished today.""Instead of waiting, why don't you just leave it there and come home already?!" she shouted again and I moved my phone away once more. "Your sisters are already gone and I'm left with the kids! And I still need to take care of other people's children. Don't you know how exhausting this is?!"
I froze as I heard that question. The very question that I wanted to avoid the most. If I said that Minju left me to do her work for her, he might scold me. And that might lead to another unwanted discourse with the floor's Queen Bee.On the other hand, if I lied to Mr. Nam that I had a lot of so-called paperwork from our clients, he might still check all the camera footage. There, he would definitely see what happened today. And I might anger him if I lied because Mr. Kim did say that they would never tolerate lying."Well, Miss Ryuk?" he asked again, which removed me from my ocean of thoughts.Frantic, I looked around the room in search of an answer. And then finally, I said, "I had a lot of paperwork today, Mr. Nam." I looked a
After the door closed behind me, Minju started, "Mr. Nam, your secretary is worthless. Just worthless! She cost me a whole day's work when I specifically asked her to finish it yesterday!"I groaned silently as I slowly pushed myself back up. I turned to look at Minju and watched as she continued her rant.She walked closer to Mr. Nam's table. "This kind of work ethic isn't suitable for a respectable company such as yours. In my opinion, it's time that you remove her and find someone worthy of such a position."My brows furrowed as I shared glances with Mr. Kim, who stood silently behind Mr. Nam. On the other hand, Mr. Nam stared at Minju without saying a word. He gave her a blank stare, which made me uncomfortable because I had no idea what Mr. Nam would say.And after