I quickly turned my head and my eyes widened upon seeing Mr. Kim is right behind me.
With his hands behind his back, he stepped forward and shielded me from my exploding parent. He then continued, "If you must know, this is a well-mannered workplace. We don't tolerate loitering or any scandalous behaviour here. If you proceed to do so, I'm afraid I'll have to call security to escort you out of this lobby."
Mama scoffed. She remarked, louder, "So, this is how you treat your guests, huh? You make them wait for hours and whenever they speak out their thoughts, you make them leave. What kind of moral etiquette are you implementing here?"
"First of all, madam, you're not a prestigious guest that needs to be doted on by our staff," Mr. Kim stepped forward, not letting Mama finish her sentence. He continued, "On the contrary, you are disrespecting a place where no one has shown you any disrespect. And the reason why you're still being paid the respect that you don't deserve is because we have morals and etiquette, as well as you're the parent of an employee of ours.
"If you think that you're embarrassing us with your antics, then you made a wrong decision to come here," Mr. Kim added. "You just made a fool of yourself in front of many people. Our receptionist did what's required of her when we have visitors. And your daughter was in the middle of working when you abruptly arrived. We really don't allow unimportant guests during business hours. Technically, you're the one at fault, madam."
"How dare–"
Mr. Kim quickly interrupted her, "The only reason why our receptionists didn't throw you out is because you're Miss Ryuk's mother. Which is why, even though you've insulted us without fail, we maintained a certain level of patience and respect for you. Miss Ryuk over here," he pointed towards me, "She is a valuable employee in our company and she has a lot of work to do. She was allowed to speak with you during working hours because we respect that most of our employees put such high importance on family matters."
He continued, "However, it seems like your conversation with our secretary has no real value to it. You are also disturbing the peace so Mr. Nam has told me to kindly ask you to leave the building to avoid further trouble."
"No," Mama stomped, getting even more attention from passers-by. "I have my rights and it is in my rights to stay here and speak with my daughter."
My heart pounded faster and louder as panic grew inside of me.
"It is also our right to escort you out because this is our property. We can easily press charges of trespassing against you for your actions, madam. Which is why I'm kindly asking you to leave."
"I demand to speak with my daughter alone!"
"And I don't think that Miss Ryuk wants to speak with you further, madam," Mr. Kim's thunderous voice silenced the whole room. The employee stopped right on their tracks and Mama was caught off-guard
Suddenly, three men in black suits approached us and stood behind Mama.
Mama turned around and her eyes widened in terror as the three men towered over her.
"Gentlemen," Mr. Kim started. "Kindly escort Miss Ryuk's mother out of the building. Make sure that she's unharmed and that she gets into a cab safely," he instructed. Mama turned back to him as he added, "Pay the fare for her as well."
"Yes, Mr. Kim," they all replied.
"Wait, what? No! I refuse to go!" Mama started screaming as the two men held her by each arm. The other grabbed her bag and they proceeded to walk away with her. She continued shouting, "Let go of me! Get your hands off me! I am the mother of your secretary! You cannot treat me like this! No! Mingyu! Mingyu!"
"Are you alright, Miss Ryuk?" Mr. Kim as he looked at me.
I nodded, swallowing the big lump on my throat as I continued to hear Mama's faint cries of help. I took deep, gentle breaths, trying to calm myself down after a scandalous encounter with Mama.
From afar, I watched her through the glass front doors of the building. She was still screaming, fighting against the men who remained calm and collected. Mama never learned from her past mistakes. The reason why almost everyone around us left was because they gave up on her and her toxicity. She would always believe that she was right, no matter what the circumstances were. She would never admit that some things were her fault. Instead of owning the mistake, she would instead pass the blame onto someone else.
Specifically, me.
Out of all the people she could possibly blame in this world, she would always put the pressure on me.
"And all of you," my head shot up towards Mr. Kim as he spoke to the other employees. His voice roared as he continued, "Did you all have your bite of entertainment today? Well, the fun is over now. You may all go back to work."
Just like that, everybody moved. Like Mr. Kim had a remote control in his hands: he pressed "Play" towards the employees who were on pause.
Everybody moved quickly, not wanting to receive Mr. Kim's possible rage.
Turning towards the door, Mama was finally escorted through a taxi and it immediately drove away. I was surprised that the men didn't do anything to hurt her. If other people handled her tantrums, they would have thrown her into the curb. She was still lucky that Mr. Kim's men had respect for the undeserving.
Mr. Kim returned to me and asked, "Are you sure you're okay, Miss Ryuk? Did she do anything to harm you? In all aspects?"
I chuckled softly as I replied, "At this point, Mr. Kim, I'm used to everything that she's done to me. Mama has damaged me long before I even came here. So, there's no point in complaining now."
He stared at me, worried as he continued to look around my body.
"Mr. Kim," I spoke suddenly, getting him out of his concerned thoughts. "I'm alright, I promise. Just a bit shaken because of what she did. She never failed to humiliate me in front of everybody else."
"Miss Ryuk, I assure you that your mother only humiliated herself," Mr. Kim said as he stepped forward. He continued, "You handled yourself with grace and dignity. If you stepped down to her level, you would have embarrassed yourself along with your mother. But you didn't and you shouldn't think that you're a disgrace or anything. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Mr. Kim," I nodded, looking up at him.
He briefly tapped me on my shoulder before he sighed. "Well then, the monster has been sent away and the chaos was resolved," he remarked formally, causing me to giggle. He added, "You may go back to work, Miss Ryuk. Well done for handling the situation properly."
"Thank you, Mr. Kim," I bowed.
He then pointed towards the elevator and I went on ahead. It was such an ordeal to talk to Mama. It was always draining to talk to her.