"Welcome to the top floor of this building. We call this the Main HQ as this is where the boss' office is. This is also where his special employees are. The brains and brawns behind each success of this company," Mr. Kim explained as we walked down a short hallway.
We then entered through another glass door and the room was filled with workstations. Everyone was immersed into their work. Some were on the phone, some were on their computers, and some were working with each other.
"Everyone?" Mr. Kim's sudden voice caught the attention of others. All the employees turned to our direction and he continued, "Allow me to introduce Ryuk Mingyu," he gestured towards me. "She's the new member of our family. She's our new secretary and I trust that you'll make her feel right at home," he added.
As every eye landed on me, I bowed before everyone and introduced myself.
"Well then, come with me to the boss' office. I have a lot of things to discuss with you," he turned to me before he walked ahead of me.
I followed quickly behind him and smiled at everyone. However, instead of being welcomed, I only received death glares from some of the employees. Immediately, I avoided looking at them and kept my head low. The last thing I would want to happen was to leave a bad impression on everybody here.
---*---*---*---
"Please, have a seat," Mr. Kim said as he opened the door wide for me. I bowed briefly and entered the CEO's office. I entered the room with cautious steps. The sound of the door closing caused me to jump a bit, which was embarrassing, to say the least.
Mr. Kim sat on the main chair and he gestured at the seat across him. I obliged and slowly sat before him.
He said, "First things first, I will not sugarcoat everything. You're here to immediately start your first day. After the boss reviewed your credentials, he found you fit for the secretarial position. He specifically requested for me to watch over you while he's on a business trip."
My eyes widened as I froze. That was true?! What the receptionist said was true?! But why?! Why was I accepted right away? Why wasn't I given any proper training before I started? Were they in such a rush for someone to fill the position? And why was I chosen for this job when I only applied for a regular position?
Mr. Kim met my frozen stare and smiled softly. He continued, "I understand that everything is a shock to you. Trust me, I was also shocked with the boss' sudden decision. But being his assistant from the very beginning, I know he won't make a decision unless he knew what he was doing."
"But, why?" I stuttered with just two words. "I don't understand what sort of credentials that he saw on my resume to be deemed appropriate for such a heavy role." I added, "Being a secretary isn't an easy job. I don't understand why I'm chosen."
He sighed as he shook his head. "Believe me, you're not the first one who's confused and shocked about this. But you have nothing to fear. I will be with you throughout every step of the way," he smiled as he replied. "And besides, the secretarial duties in this company aren't as heavy as with other companies."
He added, "As you can tell, I'm his main assistant. So, technically, half of the duties of a secretary are already done by me. Think of your position as my co-captain in helping our boss."
"Ah, I see," I nodded. "What will I be doing, then?"
"Sorting out important paperwork. Sorting out the boss' schedule. You're the first one to review each paperwork that arrives. You're the one who can speak for your fellow employees on this floor. And you'll be the one to accompany him on business trips," he said as he listed everything on his tablet.
"What will you be doing, then?" I asked.
He replied, "I will be the one to finalize everything. And if you need to tell the boss something, you can tell me and I'll relay it to him."
I took a moment to process what was happening. Everything was too fast for me to handle. I didn't want to have a mental breakdown on the first day. That would be the worst way to start my new job. I didn't want to be seen as unfit for this position.
Truth be told, nothing about me indicated that I was qualified for this position. But since it was given to me, it wasn't something I would easily let slip from my grasp. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I would do my very best and would give my all for this job.
"If you don't mind me asking, if you're already the main assistant, why do you still need a secretary?" I asked.
"From time to time, our boss has business trips to attend to. And some of them can take a few days, even weeks or months. And he hates it when he doesn't have anyone to take his place here during his absence," he happily explained. "Since I'm the only one he can trust with company matters, we needed someone who can accompany him and help him with matters during those trips. And that's your biggest role in this company."
I nodded. By how he explained my job description, it didn't seem to be too much of a work. I would just be the helping hand of the main assistant. And for someone who never took courses in college related to this job, I found each task to be quite easy.
"Do you have any other questions for me, Miss Ryuk?" he asked.
I shook my head.
"Are you ready for your first day at work?" he asked another.
I let out a deep sigh and pinned my hands in between my thighs. "Honestly, I'm nervous, Mr. Kim. I never expected to be working at such a prestigious company and at such a high position. I can only hope that I do a good job," I replied.
He nodded. "I understand how you feel. And I deeply apologize for the sudden start of your work. It was requested by the boss. But like I said, you have nothing to worry about. You have me to guide you. You have the whole floor to help you out. And once the boss returns, you can ask him any kind of question that you have," he answered with a smile.
I nodded but I still wasn't comforted by what he said. Especially when he said that I had the whole floor to assist me. I wasn't sure if he didn't notice. But almost every employee outside shot a death glare at me. I wouldn't be surprised if they would watch me as I sunk into a deep hole that they would cause.
He then pulled a drawer open and revealed a wide, flat box. He settled it on the table and said, "Here's a little something for you. Kindly look into it and tell me what you think."
I did just what he said. And as I lifted the top part, I couldn't believe what I saw.
Inside the box was a brand new laptop, a brand new tablet and a box of headphones. I looked at him, questioning as to what I saw."The boss personally suggested that you use these for your job. He said it will be beneficial if you accompany him on business trips," he explained. He continued, "The headphones are for calls. I already incorporated a software into your laptop where you can receive and make calls. Please, make sure that your calls are exclusive for work purposes."I nodded as I closed the box. I then asked, "Are you sure that this is for me? I didn't expect this to happen next. I'm still at the part where I'm questioning if everything right now is real.""I assure you, Miss Ryuk, everything was planned meticulously for you," he replied. "We take pride in taking care of our employees, especially those who
I groaned as the elevator bell dinged. I leaned onto the nearest wall as I dragged myself out of the damned elevator. Thankfully, this was the last time I was going to deliver files to other floors.I let out a sigh as I stepped into our production floor. But I was caught by surprise when I saw that there was no one there. I passed by the conference room but it was empty as well.I checked my watch and I couldn't believe what I saw. I spent most of my day delivering files! I rushed over to my laptop and was horrified that I had forty voicemails. I sat down and was about to listen to them when the glass door opened.It was one of my lady co-workers. She froze right on the spot as our eyes met. She checked her watch and immediately walked over to me.I fixed myself and ans
"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 immed
I turned to it and saw my whole exchange with Minju, as well as the times that I would go back and forth to my desk. I was also shown a clip where Soyoung pleaded with me to have lunch with her.Once the clips were done, Mr. Kim pulled his tablet back.I kept my head low as I didn't know what to say about the situation."I'm not angry with you, Miss Ryuk," he replied, which made me look at him. He continued, "I just want to understand what happened during your first hours here."Out of nervousness, I pinned my hands in between my thighs once again. And because of my discomfort, I shifted numerous times on my chair. And I proceeded to look around as I avoided Mr. Kim's stare."Miss Ryuk," I immediately turned back to him, "I d
The driver looked at me and I smiled hesitantly before I returned to the paperwork in my hands. I lived in this neighborhood for far too long. Long enough for me to be reminded that in every beautiful home, behind every wonderfully finished door, life wasn't as perfect as it seemed.Soon enough, we finally stopped in front of my house. As I gathered all of my things, my driver said, "I'll pick you up tomorrow around seven in the morning. Is that a good time for you?"I turned to him and smiled. I replied, "Seven sounds great. But do wait for me at the nearesf bus stop."His brows furrowed.I quickly reasoned, "I like going on walks in the morning. A small walk to the bus stop will be my exercise. I hope that won't be much of a hassle for you."
"And that was the story of Jack and the beanstalk," I smiled as I closed the book. I settled the book on the bedside table and returned to the little ones. "How was that for a bedtime story?" I asked as I looked at them from the top bunk to the pull-a-bed on the floor.Because of my sisters' unplanned pregnancies, I gave up my room for the kids. However, we couldn't afford separate beds so we bought a double-decker bed with a pull-a-bed underneath. Thankfully, my nieces and nephees never complained. Especially, when they always enjoyed having each other around."Is the beanstalk true, Auntie?" Yeonghee, the youngest of the bunch, asked. "And is there really a giant's castle in the sky?""Hm, well, other than Jack, no one has attempted to try again," I replied as I tucked them in one by one. I continued, "And after h
"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 w
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