Deal Breaker - Chapter 42
“Aigoo, you’ve worked so hard again this morning, coming so early just to pick up my granddaughter. Here, please take these.”
As always, that morning, her grandmother had come down to the apartment’s underground parking garage to hand out madeleines she’d baked yesterday to the chauffeur and bodyguards sent to pick Hyeji up. It didn’t suit Hyeji’s aloof image at work, but since this was her grandmother’s daily joy, Hyeji just quietly watched the ritual each morning.
“Take these to the office and share them with everyone.”
Her grandmother also handed Hyeji a small paper bag filled with madeleines.
“And give some to the Director too.”
He was the type who took great care of himself and rarely ate sweets. But he also had impeccable manners, so if she told him, “My grandmother baked these,” he’d accept them. That’s why Hyeji always ended up eating them herself without a word.
“Work hard today, and come home right after work. Grandma’s taking you out for mul-naengmyeon.”
Late last night, she’d suddenly craved mul-naengmyeon, which she didn’t even like that much, and had been so restless she couldn’t sleep. She’d always preferred bibim-naengmyeon, so why had she craved mul-naengmyeon? But when she woke up, the craving had completely vanished. As expected, any craving that disappears after a day of restraint was fake hunger.
“I don’t feel like it anymore.”
“Then Grandma will buy you fried chicken. Come home early, okay, Princess?”
“Okay.”
Even though she could now afford five-course meals at hotel restaurants, the fried chicken her grandmother bought with her savings was the most delicious thing in the world to Hyeji.
And so, just like every morning, she was sent off with her grandmother’s doting calls of ‘Princess’ in front of her coworkers. As the car pulled out of the parking garage, Hyeji looked out the window. Even craning her neck, she couldn’t see the top of their luxury apartment building.
My home.
She didn’t smile much in front of others, but she couldn’t help it in this moment every morning.
The car crossed a bridge and headed toward Gangnam. Past the main road lined with towering buildings, a familiar business center came into view, and Hyeji got out of the car.
As usual, she blended into the morning rush and entered through the grand glass doors. Crossing the spacious lobby, she greeted two familiar faces while waiting for the elevator. Of the twenty or so people waiting in the hall, she recognized faces but didn’t know their names or where they worked.
On the directory filled with well-known company names, Acton Security occupied the 20th and 21st floors. A private military company—one that employed and operated Espers and Guides as mercenaries—Acton had a large roster of employees but relatively few office workers.
Hyeji exited on the 21st floor. She exchanged a light nod with the receptionist, then took her employee ID card out of her large tote bag. Approaching the glass doors guarded by security staff, she tapped the card on the reader, stepped inside, and hung the badge around her neck.
It was an utterly ordinary, simple routine she had been doing for six years, but every time she felt a little thrill. Not because of the dozens of emails waiting for her, or the thought of facing her boss, whose presence could raise or lower her quality of life in an instant.
I’m a proper working professional now.
It was the moment she confirmed she’d finally escaped the swamp of part-time jobs that had held her back since middle school.
Upon entering the secretary’s office, she first confirmed that Kanghyeon hadn’t arrived yet, then sat at her desk. She powered on her computer and, among the dozens of new emails, opened one from the Management Support Team first.
Friday, March 11. Domestic and International News Analysis and Excerpts.
Because the Director didn’t have time to comb through newspapers, the Management Support Team sent him daily articles summarizing the economy and industry trends. Checking the attached file, Hyeji decided not to print it out and instead forwarded it to Kanghyeon’s email. There weren’t many articles today, so it would be more efficient for him to skim them on his way to work.
There were about thirty minutes left before her boss arrived. Hyeji sorted through her emails, prioritized them, and replied to the urgent ones first. In between, she neatly carried the document trays and mail that had piled up on the secretary’s desk and placed them on the Director’s desk.
After checking her boss’s desk to ensure it had all necessary supplies, she returned to her seat and answered the ringing phone… when the secretary office door swung open and her boss strode in.
She started to stand with the receiver still at her ear, but he shook his head and disappeared into his office like a gust of wind.
