We just finished our meeting with our client from the Nekobe Hotel. Nekobe Hotel was just one of the many businesses that ran under Nam Corporations. Even though it was a lunch meeting, I was still nervous as I sat down with Mr. Nam and our client, Mr. Choi.Truth to be told, I expected for Mr. Choi to be, somehow, like Minju. But I was proven to be wrong. Mr. Choi was actually a nice person and he even made sure that I was comfortable during the whole time he talked with Mr. Nam.Mr. Nam explained that before he would make partners with someone, he would always ask their employees about their bosses. Mr. Nam said that he would never accept a partner who had a record of mistreating their employees. Because it was against our company’s values and he would remind his partners and clients of that rule.It was ano

Mr. Taeyoung was horrified. Brows knitted together and his eyes opened wide. “What do you mean my rating isn’t enough? The chat completely shows that my reputation has recovered,” he protested.“That was your reputation amongst your current partners and clients,” Mr. Nam grabbed the second folder once again and opened it. He continued, “Your reputation with the public is undecided. And with the people within the business industry, their trust in your name is yet to be restored.”I secretly glanced over to Mr. Taeyoung and his jaw clenched. His hand on the table slowly clenched as Mr. Nam put the folder back on the table.Mr. Nam continued, “Did you really think that I wouldn’t see that? Your chart explained everything perfectly.”

It was already past five in the afternoon and I was still transcribing the voice recordings today. At first, I only wanted to take down notes of the important details. However, I kept getting distracted with the whole audio. So, I took it upon myself to transcribe them.As for my officemates, everyone has already left the building. Soyoung wanted to stay behind but I told her that I would only stay for a bit. Minju and her friends didn’t say a word when I returned. But they would still do their occasional death glares.As for Mr. Nam, we didn’t speak during the whole ride back to the company. The car was dead silent. But Haru and I exchanged glances through his rearview mirror. Eventually, Mr. Nam spoke to me when we got into the elevator.---*---*---*---

“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.&rdqu

The kids looked at one another before Ahra replied, “Mama went out with Aunt Jaeyun this morning. And when they returned in the afternoon, they suddenly became strict with us. They gave us baths, gave us food and told us to stay in this room.”“When they gave us baths, they were too cruel, Aunt Mingyu,” Chiwon entered the conversation. “Most of the time, we complained that the water was either too hot or too cold. But they never listened to us.”Sunmi added, “They called us brats and even told their friends that we were hard-headed kids and that we deserved to be disciplined all the time.”My blood boiled as their eyes slowly watered. I pulled them into my arms and held them as tightly as I could. I didn’t know what happened and how they were treated. But they we