"Mother, how many times must we discuss this?" Jinho groaned as he shuffled important papers on his desk.
"You can't blame me for constantly bringing up this topic, dear," his mother replied over the speakerphone. "You've done nothing but drown yourself in work. Your father and I aren't getting any younger."
"But I'm not the one who's responsible for continuing your bloodline," Jinho stopped as he looked at the phone. "In matters such as this, you should discuss this with Taeyoung."
His mother sighed and said, "Your brother still has a long way to go. You're the eldest and you're already set in your career. It's high time that you find a bride for yourself and settle down."
"Can't I decide that for myself?" he asked as someone lightly knocked on his door. It creaked open and his assistant, Kim Hyeongu, peeped through the small opening.
"I already agreed to that and look at where we are now," she replied. Jinho gestured for his assistant to enter as she continued, "You always ask for more time. Yet, it's been seven years since you said that. Still, you're on the top of the most eligible bachelors in our city." She added, "We already gave you enough time. Don't force us to do it for you."
"I know I asked for time. And I still do. My business has attracted more partners and expansion is inevitable. At this point, settling down is out of my priorities," he argued as Hyeongu arranged the new arrivals. Accidentally, Jinho bumped the other palets that Hyeongu carried. His eyes widened as the files scattered all over the floor. He offered to help but Hyeongu declined and started to pick up the papers.
"Until when will your business be your priority?" his mother answered. Jinho watched as Hyeongu collected the scattered files. But his world stopped when he saw a specific file.
"Jinho? Are you listening to me?" his mother raised her voice as it came out of fade.
"Oh, un, yes, Mother," he replied as he snapped back to reality. "Mother, can I call you back? I need to do something important."
His mother sighed. "Will you be joining us for dinner?"
"I'll let you know."
"Okay. Don't work too much."
"Yes. Bye." Jinho quickly turned off the speakerphone. He turned to his assistant and said, "Hyeongu, may I see that resume?"
Hyeongu's brows furrowed. He skimmed through his files and pulled out the first resume that he saw. He then showed it to his boss.
Jinho nodded eagerly and Hyeongu immediately handed it to him. Jinho read the resume and asked, "What's this for?"
"We currently have an opening for our production floors. She's one of the passed applicants," Hyeongu explained.
Jinho smiled and asked another, "Do we have a job opening here on our floor?"
Hyeongu thought carefully before he answered, "The only opening we have is the secretarial position. Miss Park has sent in her resignation letter and it was effective immediately."
Jinho nodded as he finished the resume. He handed it over to him and said, "Give the position to this applicant. Her credentials seem to be proper for the job."
"Uh, of course, sir," Hyeongu nodded. He was confused as he couldn't understand his boss' decision. He already read the said resume and her credentials weren't suitable for the position. But he knew he couldn't argue against it as his boss was already set on it.
"Is everything ready for my departure?" Jinho asked as he stood from his chair.
"Yes, sir. I had everything settled for you," Hyeongu replied. "Your luggage is all ready. Your private plane will undergo its final checking tonight. And you're set to fly out early tomorrow morning."
Jinho nodded. He turned to his assistant and said, "While I'm away, I entrust everything to you. As much as I want to bring you with me, someone has to stay behind and manage the company."
"I promise you, sir, that I will do my very best to keep the company in check," Hyeongu replied as he bowed his head for a quick moment.
"And while I'm away, handle the training process of our new secretary," Jinho continued. "You're well-familiar with everything that a secretary does in my company. Show her the ropes and keep a close eye on her. Should she struggle, give her a helping hand at all times."
Hyeongu nodded.
Jinho's phone buzzed. He checked it for a while before he slid it back into his pocket. "Looks like one of our partners wants to have a late night dinner with me," he remarked.
"Should I have the car ready for you, sir?" Hyeongu asked.
Jinho nodded as he started walking.
Hyeongu followed closely behind him and spoke to his inner ear, "Have the car be at the front door. Mr. Nam has an appointment."
As they headed to the elevator, Jinho couldn't help but allow a slight grin to appear on his face. He just couldn't believe that after such a long time, he found her at last. And to be able to have her as his secretary, he finally felt that it was his time to catch up with everything.
And throughout the night, only one name played over and over in his mind.
Ryuk Mingyu.
"For today's weather forecast, it will be a warm, sunny day from morning until the afternoon. But do remember to bring your umbrellas along as scattered rainfall is to be expected across the country…"The radio newscaster faded into the background as I reviewed the job offer sent to me. It was sent via e-mail. But I took it upon myself to have it as print-outs so I could bring it everywhere.My heart pounded and my hands shook as I read the job description. Never, in my wildest dreams, did I expect to be given such a high position at such a prestigious company. I was already thankful when I passed the evaluation as a regular employee. But when I was told that I was given the secretarial position, I was over the moon."First day at a new job?"My head shot
"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 b
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