It read,
"Hi and good evening, Miss Ryuk!
"Hyeongu mentioned that you accepted the hotel access given by Nekobe. I can't express how glad I was to hear such good news. Rest assured that everything that you'll need will be provided for. Breakfast will be included in the package. I'm not sure if Mr. Choi mentioned it already. But if he didn't then I'm here to remind you about it.
"I know I wasn't able to answer your pressing questions today. And I'm very sorry that I couldn't give you what you want. Somehow, I know that there are words I know that you want to hear. As much as I want to give you just that, I would be lying, not just to you but to myself as well. And that's the last thing that I want to do to you.
"Anyways, I will not bother you anymore. I will give you some time to rest early.
"If I may ask one thing from you, please don't overthink anything. Leave those problems for another day. I promise I'll explain everything one day. But for now, focus on yourself and the career that you're trying to build.
"Good night and see you tomorrow."
I groaned as I closed my phone, shutting my eyes as I raised my face up towards the ceiling. Frustrated, I placed my phone back on the table, creating a bit of a thud.
'Why did he have to do that? Why did he have to make a peaceful night irritating once again?' I asked myself, groaning. 'The night was going so well. But he just had to remind me of what frustrated me.'
Taking a deep breath, I calmed my mind and headed to the bathroom. I didn't have time and energy to deal with Mr. Nam and his antics tonight.
—*---*---*---
"Miss Ryuk?" Mr. Nam's receptionist called my line whilst I was in the middle of my emails.
"Yes? Is there something wrong?" I asked as I returned my screen to my emails.
She replied, "Front desk just called. They informed me that someone is looking for you downstairs and that it's urgent."
"I'm kind of in the middle of something. Can't they just come back some other day?" I asked as I continued answering urgent emails from Mr. Kim. "Who is it?"
"Um," she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "It's your mother, Miss Ryuk."
I froze as she said that. My right hand froze on my mouse whilst my left remained unmoved above my keyboard. Why would she suddenly show up at my office? What could she possibly want this time?
After a while of silence between the two of us, I finally snapped out of my thoughts. I then asked, "Can't the front desk tell her that her daughter is working? Have them tell her that I'll give her a call later."
"Hold on, Miss Ryuk. I'll update you if she says anything else." The call finally ended.
I took a deep breath and resumed my work. My office was supposed to be the safest place, far from the toxic environment at home. Far from their idiocy and mockery. But instead of leaving me alone, Mama decided to follow me to a place where I didn't have to see her.
Minutes later, my earphone rang. I pressed "Answer" and answered, "Hello, this is Mr. Nam's office. How may I help you today?"
"Miss Ryuk," Mr. Nam's receptionist replied on the other line, "Your mother said she wants to speak to you now. And she's not leaving the building unless you go down and talk to her."
I sighed as I laid back onto my chair. "Can you call the front desk and hand the phone to my mother? I really can't go down right now. I'm in the middle of working."
"But, Miss Ryuk–"
"Hold on," I interrupted as my earphone beeped. I looked at the call software on my laptop and saw an incoming call from Mr. Nam. "Give me one second. Mr. Nam is called me. Can you hold?" I asked.
"Sure, Miss Ryuk," she replied
Putting her on hold, I answered the other call, "Yes, Mr. Nam?"
"You seem to be troubled, Miss Ryuk. Is there something wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing's wrong, Mr. Nam," I replied as quickly as possible.
"My blinds may be drawn, Miss Ryuk, but I can always take a peek to see if my floor is working properly," said Mr. Nam, exasperating before his reply. He continued, "Immediately, I saw that you were bothered when you were on the phone. So, there's no point in lying to me when it's already obvious."
My eyes widened as I slowly turned to the glass panel beside my workplace. There, I saw that someone - most probably Mr. Kim - separated a few blinds. And through that small space, Mr. Nam's eyes were visible as he looked straight at me.
Embarrassed, I nodded faintly at him before I turned my back.
"What's the matter, Miss Ryuk? What caused you to be so troubled?" he asked right away.
Lowering my voice, I answered very slowly, "You see, Mr. Nam, my mother is downstairs. Front desk called your receptionist and she told me that my mother insisted on speaking with me. And that she wouldn't leave unless I went downstairs and talked with her."
"I don't see any problems with that. If you want to speak with her, you can take the time to do so. She's your mother, after all," he said.
I sighed, sliding my hand from my forehead to my hair out of frustration. I continued, "That's the thing, sir. I actually don't want to speak with her. She's only going to complain about what happened at home and it's going to drive me insane. This office is the safest place away from her toxicity. I don't want her negativity to affect my daily grind."
I added, "Also, I'm in the middle of answering important emails from Mr. Kim. I can't just put everything on hold, just to listen to my mother rant about what happened."
"Miss Ryuk, I appreciate that you value your job. However, I also don't want to get in the way of your personal life. That's just not how my company works," he replied. "I always tell my employees that if urgent matters such as family comes up, they can tell me and they can put that first. And even though you're only a new hire, that rule also reflects on you.
"I also understand that you don't want to deal with any toxicity at the moment, especially in regards to your mother," he proceeded. "But you can't keep running away from it forever. It's best that you face it now than to avoid it and let it boil for a longer time. If you do that, it'll explode like a volcano and everybody around you will be affected. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Nam," I replied after a long sigh.
He then answered, "Very well, then. Stop whatever it is that you're doing and talk with your mother. Bring her to our company cafe so you can have a peaceful conversation. Bring your phone with you and beep Hyeongu right away if your mother starts a scene. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Mr. Nam."
"Okay." The line with Mr. Nam ended and the call immediately redirected to our receptionist.
"Hello?" I spoke as I put my work status on "Offline".
"Yes, Miss Ryuk?" the receptionist answered back.
I continued whilst I put my laptop to sleep, "Call our front desk and kindly tell them that I'll be right down."
"Right away, Miss Ryuk."
I quickly ended the call and grabbed my phone as I stood from my seat.
"Where are you going?" Soyoung asked, watching me as I stepped out of my work area.
I sighed, my shoulders falling with a deep exhale. "It seems like my mother doesn't want to leave me in peace," I said, approaching her. "She's downstairs at the moment. And I feel a disaster coming."
Her brows furrowed. "Can't she just leave you alone for a change?" she asked, irritated.
I shrugged and replied, "How I wish that it can be that easy to do. I really need a break from all her madness."
"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked, slowly standing up from her chair.
I quickly shook my hands along with my head, saying, "No, no, there's no need. I have to take care of this alone. If I bring someone along, she might act up. And I don't want to be embarrassed in front of the whole building because of her."
"Are you sure?"
I nodded. With a smile, I added, "Don't worry, I' be back before you even know it."
Though the hesitance can be seen in her eyes, Soyoung nudged whilst she sat back down. I then started walking to the exit, hoping that my mother would have some sort of decency and that she would act properly inside of the sophisticated office building.